Welcome to The Finanser, the portal to the knowledge base of the Financial Services, chaired by Chris Skinner. To make an enquiry about a speaking engagement, just contact us and, if you are interested in Chris Skinner as a speaker, here’s an illustration of his keynote presentations …
Read More »Data is the key
I’ve recently contributed to an Oracle report, providing the foreword – the report can be down…
Who let the coins out?
I got a bit itchy during the weekend and ended up sitting and writing about bitcoin, dogecoin, crypt…
The Finanser’s Week: 12th April 2021- 18th April 2021
This week’s main blog stories include … Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google … Coinbase? I wa…
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google … Coinbase?
I was reflecting, which is dangerous. I was reflecting on my antipathy towards bitcoin as, like most…
Why I hate the term ’embedded’
OK, I’m a Victor Meldrew and have several pet hates. In particular, people who use corporate-s…
The insurance industry is broken, can InsurTech fix it?
I just rang my pension fund. I realised that I’ve paid £1000’s into the fund, but hadn’t had a state…
Smaller banks have the happiest customers
Following on from why startups will fail if they compete head-to-head with a bank, I got this headli…
A billion excluded women is a disgrace
WARNING: THIS IS WOKE (whatever that is) We talk a lot about diversity and LBTG+ and equality, but i…
The Finanser’s Week: 5th April 2021- 11th April 2021
This week’s main blogs include … Another view: any start-up that challenges a bank will fail We talk…
bitcoin is dead, long live bitcoin!
I’ve not talked much about bitcoin on the blog lately*, but I have tweeted a lot about it. The key t…
The world according to Jamie Dimon
I read Jamie Dimon’s shareholder letter with interest this week. His message does not read lik…
Another view: any start-up that challenges a bank will fail
We talk a lot these days about neobanks, challenger banks, bank disrupters, bank disintermediation, …
What, why and how do you value something … and where do you keep it?
Welcome to the World of Next A few years ago, a friend of mine had an idea. It was to create a digit…
The Roaring 2020s
I blogged the other day about a $3 trillion spending spree, that I just didn’t see happening. The po…
The future of payments: free research by Deutsche Bank (includes crypto, bitcoin and more)
Last year, I blogged about the view of Deutsche Bank regarding the future of payments. They produced…
The Finanser’s Week: 29th March 2021- 4th April 2021
This week’s main blogs include … Venezuela replaces national currency with bitcoin In a fascinating …
Teach children things machines cannot learn
I am involved in a number of activities, one of which is a not-for-profit called The Portrait Founda…
Venezuela replaces national currency with bitcoin
In a fascinating move Venezuela, which has been a basket-case economy ever since Hugo Chavez died in…
The view from 2050
After discussing 2030 and beyond yesterday, I got into an interesting discussion about 2050 and beyo…
The view from 2030
I was recently asked to deliver a presentation set in the year 2030. It was challenging, but interes…
Digital is not “a generational thing”
I was told that living purely digitally was a “generational thing” and this was followed more recent…
The Finanser’s Week: 22nd March 2021- 28th March 2021
This week’s main blogs include … How China’s FinTech is changing everything I joined a C…
What’s blocking blockchain?
Three years ago, I blogged about Ant Group’s strategy for AI, Blockchain, Cybersecurity and more. At…
China’s breaking the superapp
I’ve been amazed at the rise of superapps in China. Alibaba and WeChat allow you to socialise, ship …
What is normal?
I’m watching the news. We’re all locked down. Britain just introduced £5,000 fines for unnecessary t…
Featured Post
Recent Posts
Upgrade, evolve or demolish
As you walk the streets of Rome, you find modern and ancient intertwined. The streets are full of gorgeous clothes from designers ranging from Salvatore Ferragano to Versace, Louis Vuitton to Gucci, Prada to Armani. All the names are here in beautifully presented shops that …
Read More »Upgrade, evolve or demolish
As you walk the streets of Rome, you find modern and ancient intertwined. The streets are full of gorgeous clothes from designers ranging from Salvatore Ferragano to Versace, Louis Vuitton to Gucci, Prada to Armani. All the names are here in beautifully presented shops that …
Read More »What have the Romans ever done for us?
John Cleese: And yes, all right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us? Chris: Gave us banking? John: Oh, banking – shut up! Read more …
Read More »What have the Romans ever done for us?
John Cleese: And yes, all right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us? Chris: Gave us banking? John: Oh, banking – shut up! Read more …
Read More »America is dead, long live America
In the eight years since George W Bush came to office, America has suffered 9/11, a costly war in Iraq, a period of economic growth that has come to a plateau and surprisingly speedy end, and a business climate where the next wave of growth …
Read More »UK Faster Payments goes live today
The Faster Payments project goes live today after over three years in the planning, $300 million investment in new systems and some delay – it was meant to go live in November but required such significant systems redevelopment that it took six months longer. It …
Read More »What is financial inclusion?
The European Commission is running a conference this week about financial inclusion and the unbanked. According to the Commission, almost half of all of the citizens of the EU10 – Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and other recent joiners, but not Bulgaria and Romania – …
Read More »Credit crisis causes hedge fund mogul to sell home
It shows how bad times are when even hedge fund guru’s have to sell their home. Read more …
Read More »Drench … a little bit like Cadbury’s, but different
I’m always intrigued by adverts and how they create viral campaigns and brands. The last one that blew me away and I now use in lots of presentations is this Dove campaign: Campaigning for truth in beauty such that customers become advocates of the campaign …
Read More »Drench … a little bit like Cadbury’s, but different
I’m always intrigued by adverts and how they create viral campaigns and brands. The last one that blew me away and I now use in lots of presentations is this Dove campaign: Campaigning for truth in beauty such that customers become advocates of the campaign …
Read More »MiFID’s new MTF’s start to bite
LSE reported a 52% rise in annual operating profits today, primarily related to trading which, thanks to bulk discounting to market makers, has doubled in the past year. Combine this with their acquisition of the Milan Borsa Italiana and LSE’s Earnings Before Interest and Tax …
Read More »The future is already here (from Japan)
I’ve said for a while now that Robots would eventually look after all my banking needs, and with the Semantic Web and Artificial Agents, we’re almost there. But then I see these developments coming out of Japan: and I realise that the future is real …
Read More »The future is already here (from Japan)
I’ve said for a while now that Robots would eventually look after all my banking needs, and with the Semantic Web and Artificial Agents, we’re almost there. But then I see these developments coming out of Japan: and I realise that the future is real …
Read More »The future is already here (from Japan)
I’ve said for a while now that Robots would eventually look after all my banking needs, and with the Semantic Web and Artificial Agents, we’re almost there. But then I see these developments coming out of Japan: and I realise that the future is real …
Read More »The future is already here (from Japan)
I’ve said for a while now that Robots would eventually look after all my banking needs, and with the Semantic Web and Artificial Agents, we’re almost there. But then I see these developments coming out of Japan: and I realise that the future is real …
Read More »SWFs and Citigroup – Unethical or just Flash Players?
Another excellent collection of folks at the annual Gateway conference, a meeting of British American Business leaders. Sir Wim Bischoff, Chairman of Citigroup, gave the keynote speech all about the impact of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF). Although they have been around for decades, it has …
Read More »City bankers lose more than just their jobs
The papers have been filled with fascinating stories about banking over the past 24 hours, including a call for balance sheets and core capital ratios to be a minimum 6%; the Eurozone asking for a single seat at the IMF, rather than the current 10; better …
Read More »City bankers lose more than just their jobs
The papers have been filled with fascinating stories about banking over the past 24 hours, including a call for balance sheets and core capital ratios to be a minimum 6%; the Eurozone asking for a single seat at the IMF, rather than the current 10; better …
Read More »City bankers lose more than just their jobs
The papers have been filled with fascinating stories about banking over the past 24 hours, including a call for balance sheets and core capital ratios to be a minimum 6%; the Eurozone asking for a single seat at the IMF, rather than the current 10; better …
Read More »Is it really you?
Whether it be watches or Windows, Louis Vuitton or Lagerfeld, Bangkok’s street markets have them all. In the alleys and markets you can find every brand for a fraction of its price. The sheer audacity of the stores in the flea markets, selling any branded …
Read More »Is it really you?
Whether it be watches or Windows, Louis Vuitton or Lagerfeld, Bangkok’s street markets have them all. In the alleys and markets you can find every brand for a fraction of its price. The sheer audacity of the stores in the flea markets, selling any branded …
Read More »Bank brands … forget the adverts
We had a great conversation today about bank brands at the Asian Banker’s Retail Excellence Program (I’m an advisor to the program and sit on the judging panel for their Awards). It started with Nielsen sharing some data about a branding analysis project they ran …
Read More »Bank brands … forget the adverts
We had a great conversation today about bank brands at the Asian Banker’s Retail Excellence Program (I’m an advisor to the program and sit on the judging panel for their Awards). It started with Nielsen sharing some data about a branding analysis project they ran …
Read More »Bank brands … forget the adverts
We had a great conversation today about bank brands at the Asian Banker’s Retail Excellence Program (I’m an advisor to the program and sit on the judging panel for their Awards). It started with Nielsen sharing some data about a branding analysis project they ran …
Read More »What is ‘world class technology’?
It’s a question that came up yesterday in discussion with a group of bankers and I often find myself challenged to discuss ‘world class technology’ with folks. This is because they want to be leading edge, innovative, seeking new ways of doing business and driving …
Read More »What is ‘world class technology’?
It’s a question that came up yesterday in discussion with a group of bankers and I often find myself challenged to discuss ‘world class technology’ with folks. This is because they want to be leading edge, innovative, seeking new ways of doing business and driving …
Read More »How to stay off the implode-o-meter
The Financial Times has been writing about the end of the credit crisis this week, saying that BlackRock’s $15 billion deal to buy a portfolio of distressed subprime mortgage debt from UBS, for 75 cents on the dollar, shows things are picking up. Also, Deutsche …
Read More »“A smarter, simpler SWIFT”
The SWIFT Annual Report came out last Friday (download it here, 3.4 Megabytes) and makes for some interesting reading, especially as I like numbers. Yes, it does include lots of numbers: there are 8,332 institutions connected to SWIFT (note: institutions, not banks) across 208 countries …
Read More »