I just picked up on a tale at BMO, and its a cautionary one for any Banker, and their leaders.  It speaks volumes about the culture.  Bearing in mind the story that had been developing over the prior 10 months.  Feb 2008 – Risk Management under question at Canadian Banks Oct 2007 – BMO first in laying the groundwork to mitigate against sub prime May 2007 – BMO: Trading losses swell May 2007 – BMO and Optionable [Natural Gas] loss saga continues to deteriorate _________________ With that backdrop, I came across two stories.  This one from November 28, 2007.  Note … Continue reading A Cautionary tale for bankers

Not often I have true innovation to discuss here, but this one is just that.  An ATM network that doesn’t require a card.  Instead the cell phone using normal methods [SMS ?] becomes the identification.  Privier’s New ATM Service Requires No Card, Account To perform a transaction, the sender enters his cellphone number at the ATM. A system-generated 10-digit withdrawal number will then be automatically sent to the cellphone number provided. Then, the sender contacts the recipient with the 10-digit withdrawal number as well as the amount sent. The recipient can then withdraw the money by using the withdrawal number … Continue reading Privier’s New ATM Service Requires No Card

Congratulations to the German social lender Smava who just raised 4M Euros for operations. smava finance further growth with 4 million Euros For a change, times a corporate internal message from smava we have with our existing investors Earlybird and Neuhaus Partners as a new investor with a growth financing in the amount of EUR 4 million completed. In these turbulent times, we are pleased about the funding particularly! Smava’s news is somewhat poignant as pointed out by Exciting Commerce Unlimited following on the New York Times report Lending Alternative Hits Hurdle. But this so-called peer-to-peer lending, which until recently … Continue reading Congrats to Smava on raising 4M Euro’s in funding for operations

I wanted to highlight an upcoming conference in Toronto aimed at startups and entrepreneurs.  Its been organised by the irrepressible David Crow, and Jevon McDonald who have put together a great speakers list, including: Hugh Macleod Don Dodge Austin Hill and many others Click through for details, and if the purpose, timing and location works then its one to think about. They have just announced an innovative idea that will see the Blackberry Partners Fund provide $500K funding during the conference. StartupEmpire | Startup Conference Toronto | Nov 13th & 14th StartupNorth is Canada’s only grassroots conference for startups. Created … Continue reading StartupEmpire conference | Nov 13th & 14th Toronto

The slippery slope I talked about earlier is being borne out. The UK government will own a majority 60% of RBS is the estimate. Markets surge on £1,465bn European bank bail-out | ft.com In the UK, Gordon Brown, the prime minister, announced the effective nationalisation of three high street banks. Mr Brown defended his government’s “unprecedented but essential” £37bn injection that could leave it owning a 60 per cent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the world’s biggest banks, and 43 per cent of the combined Lloyds TSB and HBOS, which is set to be the country’s largest … Continue reading RBS and Lloyds/ HBOS are effectively nationalised