The US Justice department is now deeply engaged against multiple banks on the LIBOR fixing issue. U.S. Is Building Criminal Cases in Rate-Fixing | NY Times But the Libor case presents a potential opportunity for prosecutors. Given the scope of the problems and the number of institutions involved, the rate-rigging investigation could provide a signature moment to hold big banks accountable for their activities during the financial crisis. Continue reading “A signature moment to hold big banks accountable for their activities during the financial crisis” | NY Times

When we consider all the selective memory on LIBOR at the moment, its always fun to go back and look at what was topical on this blog back then.  I found this: LIBOR and why it matters | risk that any bank could face a run on its deposits from May 8th, 2008 It was a concern because the hot topic was the high rates of LIBOR and the resultant high interest payments but large banks, and this 5 months before the Lehmans moment. No evidence here of manipulation, but there is circumstantial evidence that the topic was under review … Continue reading LIBOR post from May 2008 indicates the rate was a hot topic

This article is a good introductory analysis of the power of Amazon, but there is one point made that is worth analysing deeper because it goes to the core of the internet commerce revolution. This quote struck me as critical (emphasis mine) Amazon economy: From warehouse to powerhouse At a macro level, hub businesses such as Amazon improve efficiency, which is good news for small players, says Marco Iansiti, a professor at Harvard Business School. “The bad news is your destiny is shared with a bunch of other people,” he says. “If Amazon has a catastrophe, if the website goes down, then … Continue reading FT announces a new series on Amazon beginning Monday July 9th, 2012

This stuff is powerful. Continue reading Social media takes off against Barclays

“The culture of the trading floor is remarkably immune to shame.” This statement by the Financial Times John Gapper sums up where we are today with banks.  Most big banks have transitioned to a CEO from the investment side of the bank and this brings with it a host of unintended consequences.  I actually resent that banks run by the Bob Diamonds of the world are called banks. Banks were traditionally run by stewards of peoples money.  The concept highlighted by Diamond in 2011 “[Banks] put capital at risk in order to discover what the market is willing to pay” … Continue reading LIBOR is the catalyst of the next banking crisis

Barclays Bank is the the worst bank in the world and everyone should resign. hmmm  Barclays chief threatens to hit back | ft.com Bob Diamond is threatening to reveal potentially embarrassing details about Barclays’ dealings with regulators if he comes under fire at a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday over the Libor rate-setting scandal, according to people close to the bank’s chief executive. LIBOR has operated under a highly loose framework since inception. The notion that LIBOR has been some kind of technocratically defined daily rate and that Barclays somehow subversively undermined that rate definition is a classic example of all … Continue reading Some selective memory on LIBOR shown today

A pretty lofty announcement from Asana today.  And who or what is Asana you might ask.  For the last few months we have been using as our project collection and prioritisation tool.  We (ComunityLend) had tried several and our VP Technology came across this one in his research.  Asana is being used by Twitter, Uber, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Rdio, NationBuilder, and Airbnb. There are several cool web based tools for managing tasks, including the leader 37 signals, and Asana is out to displace them all.  This latest enhancement takes it a step further in their view, by taking task management out … Continue reading Asana announces inbox–“Towards a post-email world”

What to make of RBS.  Everyone in banking knows of the problem with old systems that rely on old guys with proprietorial knowledge.   And I say that with the utmost respect for those ‘old guys’ – I have been there and banks cannot survive otherwise.  So when banks turn over their network and application system management to a third party, Chennai in India in this case, it raises all kinds of questions.  I pity poor Chennai and here is why. My understanding is that most, if not all, of the batch team were let go and replaced with people from … Continue reading Banks are doomed when it comes to technology