Blog Index

At the end of every year I list the top 10 blog posts from The Finanser, to show what’s been of most interest.  Bearing in mind there are over 200 posts a year, these are the ones that really stand out. Like most years, this year’s list includes three guest entries – as I pick…

The main blog headlines are … Traditional banks are suffocating … they just don’t know it yet An interesting lunch discussion about data the other day. It started when someone had picked up on my blog about Ana Botin, where she made the comment: “Why should data be regulated in a different way if you’re called…

The main blog headlines are … Treating Customers Unfairly (#HSBC) I’ve blogged many times that so called free banking is a fallacy.  It’s something I have blogged about for a decade, and the recurring theme is free banking should be banned by the regulator as it’s only free as long as you don’t go overdrawn….

The main blog headlines are … Are banks adapting in the right way? I picked up a few innovative changes taking place this week within banks. In fact, I should point out that banks are not static beasts, as many claim. They are changing all the time, doing things all the time, adapting all the…

The main blog headlines are … What would you rather talk about: sex, religion, politics or money? My blog often seems to return to the subject of sex, whether it be sexism or basic sex. It is for the reason that money and rumpy-pumpy are the twin engines powering everything we do, as Jeremy Clarkson…

The main blog headlines are … Can you recognise a fraudster when you meet one? I’ve pointed out many times that it’s easy to scam people online and defraud them. I even once got a phone call from an elderly gentleman asking me if he had really won £1 million on the Financial Services Club…

The main blog headlines are … McKinsey reckon banks are in a ‘do-or-die’ moment … really? A few talking points last week, but two hit me in particular. The first is a McKinsey report that reckons half of the world’s banks are not viable. Their cost of equity is higher than their return on equity….

The main blog headlines are … Why decentralised currencies are a PEST! Sometimes you debate stuff and a realisation comes. I had one of these today. When futurists talk about the future, they generally based their opinions on forces of change, known colloquially as PEST. Political, Economic, Social and Technological change. So I was having…

The main blog headlines are … Talking ’bout my generation I was reflecting on things again. Dangerous. My reflection was on when I grew up. My mum and dad went through the second world war. They feared for their lives and for our future. There was no Europe, just a fear of Germans and Nazis,…

The main blog headlines are … What does “innovation” mean in finance? I recently was invited to be the keynote at some innovation awards in Ireland. It got me thinking about what innovation means in finance, so here are the notes from my speech. I trust it’s useful …   Thank you for inviting me…