Following an Easter Break, our biggest stories of the past fortnight are ...
Never mind the channels, here’s the b******s
Apologies but it’s that time of year where my nerve endings jangle with tension as I get into another crappy debate about multichannel strategies. “We’ve got our contact centre, then there’s our internet banking division and now we have to...
I’ve been thinking about how to build a bank for a while, and have been partly inspired by the examples of (bank)simple and movenbank. Both new bank startups began with a call to interested commentators to give their two-penneth worth...
This wirelessly connected planet
I was asked to chair a panel at the end of a one day conference on the future of payments. I therefore listened to every presentation carefully and, in opening the panel, was asked to give a ten minute summation...
It's 2012 and there's one UK bank that still does not offer internet or mobile bank services
Trust you all had a good Easter break. I did … full of chocolate. Ah well, back to the grindstone, and thought that it might be worth mentioning a little incident that annoyed and then amused me last week. I...
Tesco's QR codes - another cash killer?
I’m at a payments conference today – and so will finish off the TEDx Wall Street story tomorrow – but wanted to post a quick update for those who are looking at mobile versus proximity payments. Here are two stories....
Computing Case Study: Barclays Bank - Banking on Innovation
Enabling customer-facing staff to access bespoke financial services apps using tablet computers is just one of several ways in which COO Shaygan Kheradpir is transforming the retail banking experience at Barclays, writes Stuart Sumner.
Three articles providing a comprehensive summary of TEDxWallStreet 2012:
The Obsessive Compulsive Jim Cramer
I attended the first ever TEDx Wall Street last week, and a fine show it was. Speakers included: Alexa von Tobel, Founder and CEO of LearnVest.com David S. Rose, Founder of New York Angels and Associate Founder of Singularity University...
Three Principles for a New Wall Street
The second presentation that attracted my attention at TEDx Wall Street last week was Don Tapscott’s. Don is the author of many books, although his best known work is probably coining the phrase Wikinomics (note, this is now Marcowikinomics). His...
In wrapping up my TEDx Wall Street experience, there were a few other presenters who intrigued me. First was Rahaf Harfoush, who talked about the future of protest. Rahaf is an author and ‘innovation strategist’, whatever that is, and focused...
Speaking of conferences, and for those who are interested, there are a few other major conferences coming up this month.
I'll be chairing MEFTEC in Dubai on April 25th and 26th; at the same time, the Asian Banker's Summit takes place in Bangkok from April 25th to 27th, and includes my friends from SWIFT, who are running Innotribe Bangkok on April 26th as part of the programme.
The major general news stories of the past fortnight include ...
Goldman Sachs and Sex Trafficking - The New York Times
THE biggest forum for sex trafficking of under-age girls in the United States appears to be a Web site called Backpage.com. Until now it has been unclear who the ultimate owners are. That mystery is solved.
Lloyd's of London treasured traditions lost at sea - The Telegraph
Lloyd's of London, the insurance market with its origins in shipping insurance, continues to abandon tradition.
Bob Diamond faces pay backlash - The Telegraph
Barclays is facing a major shareholder rebellion over Bob Diamond's £18m pay package, with more than 10pc of investors set to vote against the bank's remuneration report at its annual meeting.
Rainmaker: Barclays has a great deal to learn from HSBC on executive pay - The Telegraph
When, in late September 2010, rumours emerged that Mike Geoghegan, then chief executive of HSBC, and Stephen Green, then chairman, were about to depart, institutional shareholders rightly became concerned about who would replace them and what would happen next.
Bankers' association boss Angela Knight to leave - The Independent
The banking sector's chief advocate during a time of "extraordinary difficulty" for the industry is to step down after five years at the helm.
Sir Mervyn - come clean on the bank crisis - The Telegraph
To learn from any crisis, financial or otherwise, two essential things must happen. There must be a full and frank admission of what went wrong and there must be a fundamental change in the ways of behaving to ensure - as far as is possible in an imperfect world -
'Champagne' currency trader Alex Hope held in FSA investigation into unauthorised trading scheme - The Telegraph
Alex Hope, the foreign exchange trader who hit the headlines after reports claimed he spent £200,000 in one night on a bar bill, has been arrested on suspicion of unauthorised trading.
Centrally cleared derivatives: Clear and present danger - Economist
STOCK exchanges have not been lucky in love recently. Deutsche Börse’s proposed merger with NYSE Euronext was blocked by regulators in February. Romances between the exchanges of Singapore and Australia, and between the Toronto bourse and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), have also fizzled.Tired of such dalliances, the LSE has
City agrees to lead 'Day of Sorrow' over financial crisis - The Telegraph
Britain's leading banks have agreed to hold a day of "mass atonement" for the financial crisis after pressure from the Treasury for a "significant act of contrition" according to a series of leaked emails.
Eurozone must expand bailout fund or risk break-up, says leading banker - The Independent
Eurozone leaders risk reigniting the sovereign debt crisis unless they agree more funds for the so-called "firewall" designed to calm bond markets, the world's top banking group warned last night.
Shares tumble across world as eurozone fears return - The Independent
Stock markets around the world plummeted yesterday as the eurozone debt crisis came roaring back again and fresh doubts about the sustainability of the US recovery gripped investors.
Dutch boy tries to save the euro - BBC
An 11-year-old boy's plan to save the eurozone has been commended in a major competition that has attracted some of the world's top economists.
Most common tax avoidance schemes - BBC
Lifting the lid on how the wealthy avoid paying tax
Your credit rating questions answered - BBC
An expert answers your questions about credit ratings
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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...
