Why does threat from N. Korea produce appeasement, while threats from Islamic terrorists produce resilience? My take wapo.st/1sF5Bbg Freed Zakaria asks a deep question here. For years I and millions of others have observed the development of internet, debated privacy and security. We have generally promoted the openness of internet and the advancement that brings to society as a good thing that might even make some shortcuts acceptable. But the news tonight is conformed that the NSA and others have validated North Korea, a country, actively sought out Sony admins and gained access to the Sony network. This allowed them … Continue reading The implications of weak western reaction to online terrorism from North Korea loom large

SEC. 629. From the unobligated balances available in the Securities and Exchange Commission Reserve Fund established by section 991 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Public Law 111– 203), $25,000,000 are rescinded With that (on P615 of the US Omnibus Spending Bill H.R. 83) the single largest concern from the 2007 banking crisis, which was front and centre in the Dodd Frank legislation is quietly removed. Derivatives. Banks won a measure easing restrictions on their derivative-trading activities. The change would affect requirements under the Dodd-Frank law that banks spin off certain derivatives-trading activities into units that … Continue reading Treatment of Derivatives on US bank balance sheets is swept under the table

These are not quotes you want to see following a catastrophic IT failure such as hit UK NATS just now. Traffic control failure hits London flights He added: “We think it’s the whole of the UK,” He added the airport had no idea precisely what caused the problems. “We’ve got no idea how long it’s going to last. We’ve got no further information at the moment.” NATS said its engineers were en route to Swanwick to identify the problem. They would not give any further details but other than that it is a “technical problem” [ed. en-route from where one … Continue reading How not to manage IT failures

BBVA continue on their non-traditional bank approach following their purchase of Simple. This purchase is equally interesting being a company that is engaged in that persona non grata capability for bank regulators … the cloud! BBVA acquires big data startup Madiva BBVA has acquired Spanish big data and cloud computing startup Madiva Soluciones as part of its strategy to buy up companies that are developing new technologies and disruptive business models. Madiva Soluciones or Grupo Madiva – this from their home page translated by google.com/translate. BBVA has agreed to buy Madiva Solutions, a Spanish-based startup specializing in big data and … Continue reading BBVA acquires big data startup Madiva | Finextra

Another interesting payment/ P2P payment play, this time in Belgium. What sets this one aside is the co-operation amongst banks to provide a common standard and method. Bank-backed QR code-based mobile payments app launches in Belgium Customers who download the app, pick their bank and add a Bancontact card before creating a six-digit code. To make instore, P2P and online payments, users then enter this code and scan a QR squiggle. The partners say that, thanks to the six-digit code, and because no data is stored on the phone, security is guaranteed. Card details are no longer stored in the … Continue reading Bank-backed QR code-based mobile payments app launches in Belgium | Finextra

It should be a safe bet the current person in that role at Sony, if he wasn’t gone after last weeks fiasco, then todays information about the PlayStation network being hacked and taken down, should do it. In the land of fintech we have many discussions about security risk, adequacy, potential over-reaction and generally finding the right balance between risk, and cost. Sony are a company highly dependent on technology but do not have the regulatory oversight banks have in the cybersecurity space. Sony do have the oversight however from customers and shareholders, that will ultimately determine their fate. Sony … Continue reading CIO wanted; major entertainment, gaming company

More on previous post and the underlying intention behind the UK governments intentions. Standardised APIs to be used to facilitate data portability in banking Anderson also said that the use of standardised APIs in banking would create a much more public source of data about customers and said there would be certain parallels with a ‘know your customer’ (KYC) data sharing initiative that is being developed by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). Basically what I take from these posts is that UK is supporting the SWIFT initiative to better co-ordinate KYC between banks with a centralized KYC … Continue reading More on the UK centralized KYC initiative

While perhaps well intentioned in calling for solutions that provide better quality comparison shopping, it worries me when I see HM Treasury calling for banks to provide an API as the solution, and also solution to what? AUTUMN STATEMENT 2014 2.176 Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in banking – Following publication of a Government commissioned report on APIs and open data, the government will launch a Call for Evidence on how APIs could be used in banking. This will enable financial technology companies to develop innovative solutions to allow customers to make better comparisons between different banks and financial products. I … Continue reading HM Treasury and “Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in banking” – really?