Our biggest stories of the past week are ...
Blah, blah, blah goes the talking head on the news. Banks … bad … money … sell … losses …
Groan, moan, dull, boring. Ripoff …
scandal … government … economy … bonuses … fatcat … Depressing, stop it,
shut...
Why does the UK shun credit unions when other markets
love them?
It is amazing that the UK has a tiny market for Credit
Unions when other markets, particularly the USA, is dominated by them. Why is
this? And why are we trying to create more banks when Credit Unions offer a...
The World's Top 20 Banks: 2013
I was just analysing the Banker’s annual tome: the Top 1,000
banks. It’s a serious piece of research and represents many years of trends and
change (I’ve personally now been tracking the Top 40 banks from this list for
the...
The world's best and worst job titles
How the world has changed. We all realise the world is
changing fast when you look back ten, twenty or fifty years. Ten years ago,
there was on iPhone or Facebook. Twenty years ago, the end of the Soviet
Union,...
The importance of what's on the banknotes
As mentioned, I’m now becoming a collector of weird and
wacky bank notes, as well as those that are hugely historical or politically
interesting. This is particularly worthwhile as cash is disappearing fast so these
notes won't be around for...
Which country has the world’s best bank note?
Talking of banknotes and bank note designs, brings me to a
final thought on this: which country has the world’s best bank note?
Surprisingly, this is a debate that rages online by many commentators,
newspapers and institutions. There are books...
The major general news stories of the past week include ...
Tense
week for banks as Lloyds sell-off looms - The Guardian
Half-year results will determine the futures of the state-owned lenders, while
Barclays awaits news from the regulator
Barclays:
Almost everything you wanted to know about the bank's £12.8bn capital gap
- BBC
For unashamed wonks (that's me, in case you wondered), there's lots of gripping
stuff in today's announcement that the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation
Authority is forcing Barclays to fill a "gap" in its capital resources
of £12.8bn.
Barclays:
Bob Diamond would have resigned today - The Telegraph
Bob Diamond would have resigned over Barclays' results today, his successor
Antony Jenkins must know he can't produce a similar set again.
Metro
Bank still in the red despite customer growth - The Independent
The first new bank to open on Britain’s high streets in more than a century
increased its number of account holders by 54% during the first half of the
year but still remained loss making.
Bank
of England sold stolen Nazi gold - The Independent
The extent of The Bank of England's involvement in the sale of gold stolen by
Nazis after the invasion of Czechoslovakia has been revealed in newly released
documents.
Banks
hit by debit card cap fee ruling - Financial Times
Visa shares fell 10% after the ruling, and the American Bankers Association
warned the decision would have ‘disastrous consequences’ for banks
Dodgy
payday lenders throw in the towel - The Telegraph
Fifteen out of 50 payday lenders have thrown in the towel after being given a
deadline by the trading watchdog to prove their business practices were up to
scratch.
Think
tank: Peer-to-peer lender's bank talks spark controversy - The
Telegraph
Talks of a tie-up between Santander and Funding Circle, a leading peer-to-peer
lending platform, have spooked some of the online company's small investors.
But might a deal suggest the fledgling industry is growing up?
Nicola
Horlick raises £150,000 from small investors - The Telegraph
Fund manager Nicola Horlick has raised £150,000 through crowdfunding website
Seedrs in a record-breaking 22 hours.
Woman
who campaigned for Jane Austen bank note receives Twitter death threats
- The Telegraph
The woman who convinced the Bank of England to make Jane Austen the new face of
the £10 note has received rape and death threats from Twitter users.
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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...
