Category: AI

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Are we finally seeing the demise of the bank branch

Colin Henderson

Finally we are seeing hints of what we all know is inevitable.  It has taken a long time and probably this latest economic crisis, but the long view on branches suggests a damatic shift with less of them. Slow but inexorable move to online banking Yet slowly but surely, the internet is starting to make its mark on the sector as more people move their banking online. Lloyds is to shut up to 400 branches as part of its integration of HBOS. Its rivals are likely to follow suit. A decade from now, the local branch could well be an … Continue reading Are we finally seeing the demise of the bank branch

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Most popular posts, now and all time on thebankwatch.com

Colin Henderson

It is always interesting to look at the usage of this blog and which items are most popular, then speculate why that might be.  Any comments on this welcome, because I can try to adapt towards items that are needed.  Overall there is some consistency between the all time, and the newer stats. Comments and observations welcome. Most popular posts at the moment – June 2009: Deloitte report | “The Shift Index: Recession masking long-term competitive challenges” America’s largest Credit Unions How to web 2.0 your bank Japanese online shopping site Rakuten to open eBank Building the Bank of the … Continue reading Most popular posts, now and all time on thebankwatch.com

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Deloitte report | “The Shift Index: Recession masking long-term competitive challenges”

Colin Henderson

Deloitte put out some good stuff, but this one is superlative.  The context here is is for planners thinking about the future and wondering how to think about the future.  That context is hard to achive with so much information, and so much new information every day.  For example we have all seen and heard the Iran/ Twitter discussion, and impacts here and here.  We have seen government influence Twitter to keep the ‘people influence’ moving.  We see internet advancing rapidly, Google supposedly taking over advertising, yet Facebook with over 200M users, actively resisting advertising.  We see online banking growing … Continue reading Deloitte report | “The Shift Index: Recession masking long-term competitive challenges”

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State Department official, Jared Cohen, e-mailed Twitter – delay scheduled maintenance

Colin Henderson

This has little directly to do with banking per se, but it has a lot to do with information seeking, gathering, and the seismic shifts in how transparency of otherwise opaque bodies can be nullified by the internet tools available.  It is also just plain fascinating, and something all strategists should watch and try to understand. Whether this was innocent or otherwise, it appears to be a fact that it happened hence the significance.  Also read here for discussion and note the ‘informed’ comments.  One cannot help but think that there is something deliberate to all this, and even that … Continue reading State Department official, Jared Cohen, e-mailed Twitter – delay scheduled maintenance

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Credit Card defaults rising although manageable so far

Colin Henderson

As noted in Nov 2007, the next thing to watch following sub prime which was already prevalent then was credit card defaults.  It has taken longer than expected which is interesting, but it is now clearly a trend, although being managed so far.  It is clear that credit card companies are pro-actively managing the situation knowing full well that to ignore would bring disaster.  Read Calculated Risk here for examples. Capital One Chargeoffs Rise To 9.4%; American Express Chargeoffs 10%; Card Issuance Drops 50% Credit cards losses are accelerating at Capital One, a trend one should expect to continue given … Continue reading Credit Card defaults rising although manageable so far

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Deloitte Report – “The New Financial Services Marketplace” | How are you redesigning your Bank?

Colin Henderson

This new report (12 pages) with the subtitle ‘Restoring Broken Markets’ deals with the new reality of frozen securitization markets and the renewal of traditional banking – re-intermediation – as the backstop point along with 5 others including industry consolidation, government ownership, and consumer protection.  This is the first in a series, and I for one cannot wait. Its a fantastic read, and ideas just start leaping off the page as you work through it.  But before we get into design, lets look at current state. The Deloitte Center for Banking Solutions The Deloitte Center for Banking Solutions is pleased to … Continue reading Deloitte Report – “The New Financial Services Marketplace” | How are you redesigning your Bank?

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Long Term Evolution (LTE) – next level for mobile

Colin Henderson

Just when we thought we were getting there with 3G here comes LTE in Japan, the next level. Its not clear what the individual phone download rate would be, but it will be fast. DoCoMo To Invest Y300-400bn In LTE Network Tuesday, June 9, 2009 NTT DoCoMo President Ryuji Yamada TOKYO (Nikkei)–NTT DoCoMo Inc. (9437) will spend 300-400 billion yen over the next five years to develop LTE (Long Term Evolution), the next-generation high-speed cellular network it plans to launch in the second half of 2010, said President Ryuji Yamada on Tuesday. “The mobile phone market is entering maturity, but … Continue reading Long Term Evolution (LTE) – next level for mobile

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Japanese online shopping site Rakuten to open eBank

Colin Henderson

Rakuten [wikipedia Site]  is a highly popular Japanese shopping destination online, where you can get anything, from laptops to shoes to travel, you name it.  Now they are adding their own bank in 2010. The aggregated model exemplified by Rakuten works well in Japan, and the addition of banking is one more innovation for traditional banks to contend with. Rakuten online shopping mall to open eBank TOKYO, Jun 04, 2009 (Kyodo News International – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — Internet mall operator Rakuten Inc. said Thursday it will rename its Internet banking unit eBANK Corp. as Rakuten Bank before … Continue reading Japanese online shopping site Rakuten to open eBank

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Bad economy, more insider trading & fraud

Colin Henderson

When the economic wheels fall off, thats when this kind of thing comes out of the woodwork in banking.  This is the second one in Japan recently, and in the US, we have seen Madoff, and Stanford. Aozora Bank Raided For Suspected Insider Trading TOKYO (Nikkei)–The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission on Thursday raided the main office of Aozora Bank (8304) in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on suspicion that an employee of the bank traded shares using inside information obtained at work. あおぞら銀本店を強制調査 融資審査情報を悪用して株のインサイダー取引をした疑いがあるとして、証券取引等監視委員会は４日、金融商品取引法違反の疑いであおぞら銀行の男性行員 を任意で聴取、東京都千代田区の本店を強制調査した。今後の調査で容疑が固まれば、捜査当局に行員を告発する。関係者によると、聴取を受けたのは、融資審 査部門に所属する４０代後半の男性行員。利得額は、数年間で一千数百万円に上るとみられる。 Researched by Nobuyo Henderson Continue reading Bad economy, more insider trading & fraud

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Virgin plans internet bank in UK

Colin Henderson

Things are beginning to happen. Branson plans launch of Virgin internet bank | Observer [hat tip Finextra] Richard Branson is to launch an internet bank in a move designed to exploit public disgust with Britain’s big banks in the wake of the credit crunch. Branson follows Tesco, which is also planning to capitalise on disenchantment with traditional banking via a big push into financial services. Continue reading Virgin plans internet bank in UK