The Finanser’s Week: 28th January to 3rd February 2013

Our biggest stories of the past week are ...

Banks only survive
because of regulations

We recently celebrated the two hundredth birthday of Charles
Darwin. Darwin, the man who broke through the prejudiced views of the religious
world of the Victorian era by being brave enough to say we were descended from
apes and not...

How to catch a
cybercriminal

Growing up in 21st century is wondrous, amazing and fun. You
can connect to everyone on the planet. You can find friends from Tokyo to
Timbuktu. You can catch an airplane like your dad caught a bus. You can pay...

You've been
bacefooked!

Building upon the theme that you cannot have privacy, even
if you are a cybercriminal or cybersecurity expert, you cannot have privacy if
you are a social media aficionado. And no greater illustration of the social
media aficionado is there...

Real-time means now,
and don't you forget it

I just had a dialogue that was disquieting. I can’t say with
whom, but the dialogue was about the impact of real-time on the world of
regulation. This person said to me that their regulator ran a COBOL-based
system that...

Bank trust is at an
all time low

I recently hosted a meeting of financial market players to
talk about how to rebuild trust in banking. It was an interesting evening, with
most of the attendees accepting that trust in banks was at an al-time low. But
how...

 

The major general news stories of the past week include ... 

Exclusive:
Citigroup may exit consumer banking in more countries - Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc is looking to pull out of consumer banking
in more countries in an effort to lower costs and boost profits, according to
two people familiar with the matter.

Peer-to-peer
lenders seek to rival banks - Financial Times
Investors are attracted to groups such as Prosper and Lending Club which offer
high returns built on a system that avoids complex regulation of banks

Global
Bank IT Spending to Reach $179.2 Bln in 2013: Celent - Bank Systems
& Technology
The research firm said in a new study that it expects IT spending by banks to
grow this year led by banks in North America and the Asia-Pacific.

Retailers
may add surcharge in credit card transactions - Reuters
(Reuters) - Retailers in 40 U.S. states can now charge up to 4 percent extra
when consumers pay for goods and services with a credit card.

Iceland
wins Icesave case at European court - The Telegraph
UK taxpayers have been left more than £100m out of pocket after a European
court ruled that the Icelandic government had no obligation to repay Britain
and the Netherlands for rescuing depositors in failed bank Icesave.

RBS
tips UK back into bonus debate - Financial Times
Chancellor’s discomfort amplified as pay round comes just as bank prepares to
settle with regulators over the Libor scandal

My
first Davos - what I learned - BBC
How to become a social outcast at a meeting of the world's elite

Recrimination
all round over scandal engulfing world's oldest bank - The Telegraph
It was founded in 1472, but the world's oldest bank has been plunged into
crisis by a scandal involving a very modern phenomenon - derivatives.

Banks’
adjustment to IT threat barely begun - Financial Times
Tail risks of disaster are reduced and banks’ share prices are recovering, but
there is good reason why bank executives seem so unhappy, writes John Authers

Bank
of America begins moving $50 billion of derivatives to UK: FT - Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of America has begun moving $50 billion of derivatives
out of its Irish-based operations into its British subsidiary, The Financial
Times reported on its website on Sunday, citing people close to the operation.

 

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