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Shaping the future of finance

You can take a16z out of the UK, but you cannot take the UK out of a16z

Marc Andreessen announced that their office in London, opened only two years ago, would shut down and its got everyone talking. Is London finished? Is the UK’s claim of being a great tech economy over? Will it bring down the government? Well, there are differing views. Many believe it is due to the new Trump…

The art of good business is being a good middleman

Thirty years ago, I predicted the end of the intermediary. It’s the one prediction I got wrong as the intermediary – the middleman – is the key to good business. This is one thing I’ve learned after all these years. It’s not what you know. It’s who you know. The broker who can link the…

The Finanser’s Week: 20th January – 26th January 2025

This week’s main blog discussions include … Digital Trust: How do you know you are you? For many years now, we have been talking about digital identity. The core is how to prove you are you. You have to be identified, verified, authenticated and approved. You would think with so many layers of monitoring access…

Digital Trust: How do you know you are you?

For many years now, we have been talking about digital identity. The core is how to prove you are you. You have to be identified, verified, authenticated and approved. You would think with so many layers of monitoring access that everyone online in the financial system could be trusted. So, how come there are criminals,…

The future of cash

I had a nice conversation the other day with a research group about the future of cash. Here’s a quick summary of the conversation. The conversation explores the future of cash and digital currencies, highlighting different demographic preferences and the challenges in transitioning to a cashless society. Demographic Tiers: There are three main demographic groups: tech-savvy…

Fintechs are building global platforms: what can banks do about it?

It’s funny how things go around and come around again. For years, I’ve been bemused why banks cannot merge and be successful across borders. There have been almost zero European bank mergers of any size that are cross-border and the few that exist – Santander, Unicredit, Nordea to name a few – have all found…

Does growth through M&A work anymore?

Since I started in finance, there’s been an interesting debate around whether firms can grow through organic growth or acquisitive growth. Most banks have consolidated over time to become the behemoths they are today. By way of example, just look at the history of JPMorgan Chase: Source: The Brand Hopper Or, as it surprises many…

What does tomorrow’s city look like?

As someone focused upon the future, there are a few futuristic cities that astound me. Dubai is one, as I go there every year for a winter break, and recently visited the Museum of the Future. That already sounds strange, as museums usually host the memories of the past, not the future. The museum was quite…

The Finanser’s Week: 13th January – 19th January 2025

This week’s main blog discussions include … Britain’s recent budgets feel like a long walk on a short cliff I’m not going to make any political statements, but have been watching UK political activity for the past few months, as has Elon Musk and others. In particular, there have been two milestone budget events in…

Big Tech wants Big Gov to protect them (help them make trillions)

On Monday, the crypto-president of America takes office. Bearing in mind that I’ve said several times he will be the crypto-President it is interesting that, in the last few weeks, he will be more than this. He will be the Big Tech President. Here is why. We live in such interesting times. Digitalisation has creeped…

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