Innovation in Financial Services

A discussion of trends in innovation management within financial institutions, and the key processes, technology and cultural shifts driving innovation.

Retired Member 

Club Penguin Day in the market. Had a bad day?

Health Warning: Bearish view follows. Big reshuffle lately in the global power game of market caps. The persistent record volumes on the LSE and others are just the beginning but market value is headed south. For global banks and tech stocks in particular it is really remarkable (see table). I hope investors can hold on to their smile for the dura...

05 September 2008 /wholesale

Stanley Epstein Associate at Citadel Advantage Group

Let the innovators innovate!

If you really want to boost the EU's economic fortunes, improve its competitiveness and facilitate its progressive adaptation to the digital age then you need less regulation, not more. And the best regulation is often no regulation at all. Innovation needs space to breathe and to flourish, and to do that it should be as unfettered as possible. T...

04 September 2008 /payments

Retired Member 

Who has a problem if even the Bos can be robbed?

Customers may well ask what chance they have if even the bosses of the banks are victims of fraud. Marcus Agius and Andy Hornby can't simply ignore the problem can they? What do shareholders really think? There have been rumblings from downunder about focusing on social networking sites as the root of the problem. Cobblers. A lot of social networki...

21 August 2008 /payments /retail

Retired Member 

HSBC gets down to business with social networking

It's nice to see HSBC getting into online networking, and with a good bankable idea. It could pay off in providing the bank with a modern image because let's face it, the average start-up will be making significant use of the web. A little look at the site reveals a bit of a cluttered screen designed for 800x600. Virtually all of us run at least 1...

21 August 2008

Retired Member 

Will that be Super Regular Premium Plan Super or...

I recently looked at some superannuation sites. I am going to mention my thoughts on a few. I'll start with Tower. Will that be a Super Regular Premium Plan, or will you have the Regular Premium Plan or the Single Premium Plan, superannuation plan and would you like Tower Performance Moderate to High, or Tower Capital Guaranteed Low to Moderate Ris...

19 August 2008 /retail

Retired Member 

True Medal Tally - Australia leads Great Britain on Day 10

Our original True Medal Tally version one posted late last week generated some amusing remarks about the race for the wooden spoon once you allow for per capita productivity. But the Aussies have taken some Olympic revenge by moving into the lead over Great Britain. For the latest top 10 list of the True Medal Tally at the close of day 10 in Beij...

18 August 2008 /retail

Retired Member 

True Medal Tally - Financial modelling meets sport

OK, enough of the boring medal count from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Lets get serious. What are the rankings once you take population into account (per capita) and income (Gross Domestic Product or GDP)? This table took a while to produce and offers some fascinating insights. It doesn't update automatically yet (but I'll work on that). Here a...

15 August 2008 /wholesale

Retired Member 

Absa have put ATM's in the mobile picture

I see the Absa move as being a smart one, except for the methodology, but we'll see how they go. I have been suggesting it for a while and it's nice to see I have been beaten to the punch by Absa. I can only assume they are one step away from ditching cards altogether. Good work.

15 August 2008 /retail

Stanley Epstein Associate at Citadel Advantage Group

Something is rotten ....

I have been watching unfolding events in the banking world with a sense of incredulity and rising trepidation. It's like watching a train crash in slow motion. It just seems like it is one debacle after another. First we had the sub-prime meltdown which hit us last summer. All that followed by the SocGen saga, which only served to stress that both ...

13 August 2008 /regulation

Retired Member 

Mobilisation - the future is fonancial transactions

I look back over 100 blogs I've written and have a look at the major issues discussed. Faster transactions, security, identity and whether smart cards or mobiles or a mixture of both would be the best path for transactions. In the background the financial crisis of the century has loomed large with some and banks were beginning to explore mobile ba...

05 August 2008 /payments