Our biggest stories of the week are ...
What do you really think about SEPA and the PSD?
For the past two years, we have performed a major survey in anticipation of the implementation of the PSD and SEPA to see how the world viewed these areas. The survey for 2011 is now live: click here to take survey and click here to see the last two years of results.
Why Wonga Will Wrestle With Regulators
I fully expect Wonga and the payday firms to find themselves under severe regulatory scrutiny in the very near future as over 75% annual returns on their loans will be investigated. For example, Wonga earned £15 million profits on £20 million of loans in 2010 …
How Facebook Credits could replace traditional banking
I just made a comment this week about Facebook Credits being bigger than Amazon by 2020. This was on the back of my favourite stories about Zynga becoming the biggest PayPal merchant in under a year on the back of...
Innovation and risk: creating 1,000 mph car
We had a fantastic meeting of the Financial Services Club last night with Richard Noble, OBE. Richard is the driving force behind Bloodhound SSC, a new venture to create 1,000 mph car. The challenge is how to take out the risks when driving a car faster than a speeding bullet ...
Banks are like a 1,000 mph car
Talking about risk and innovation in creating the world’s first 1,000 miles per hour (mph) car, is like talking about changing the core systems in a retail bank. You just don’t do it or, if you’re going to try, it’s...
After the turmoil in Greece and upset in Ireland, Portugal and Spain, many are saying that the euro is dead. Many others disagree, and believe that Germany has saved the European Union. Regardless, everyone is enjoying the jokes of Europe ...
The major general news stories of the week include ...
Metro Bank loses £23m in first year - The Telegraph
Metro Bank, the tiny US bank attempting to challenge the British banking establishment, lost more than £20m in its first 16 months of operation in the UK.
Lehman Brothers secretly borrowed from the Fed before collapse - The Telegraph
Lehman Brothers secretly borrowed billions of dollars from the US Federal Reserve months before the investment bank filed for bankruptcy, it has emerged.
HSBC 'held' overdrawn customer - BBC
HSBC bank has written off a customer's overdraft after a judge decided it had unlawfully imprisoned her and harassed her with hundreds of phone calls.
Lloyds Selling 632 Branches for £2.5 Billion - Business Week
Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, is seeking about 2.5 billion pounds ($4 billion) for the 632 branches it is selling to comply with a European Union ruling on taxpayer aid, two people familiar with the sales process said.
Western Union to Acquire Travelex Global Business Payments - Payments News
Western Union has announced it has signed an agreement with Travelex Holdings Limited to acquire the Travelex Global Business Payments division, a leading specialist provider of international business payments, for £606 million in cash. Travelex Global Business Payments (TGBP) conducts business payments annually for 35,000 customers in 14 countries. The
City attacks 'unprecedented powers' for Sir Mervyn King - The Telegraph
Britain's largest banks are set to step up their campaign to challenge changes to the UK's regulatory structure that they fear will hand too much power to the Bank of England.
Greater use of CHAPS payment system would improve financial stability, says Bank of England - The Telegraph
More banks should join the inter-bank payment system to improve the stability of UK financial system, according to the Bank of England.
Euro faces reckoning - BBC
German judges could burst eurozone bail-out bubble
Russia makes record bank bail-out - BBC
Russia's fifth largest bank, Bank of Moscow, is rescued with a $14bn bail-out, the biggest in Russian history.
More caught in Dodd-Frank net - Financial Times
Managers who haven't targeted the US for business but have US clients could be affected
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Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
