Ron did up a great post here reflecting on the reason for Wesabe’s failure and the arrogance of someone at Mint as to why they ‘won’ (quotes mine). First off this from Techcrunch in Sept 2009. Very early in Mint’s life they signed a sweet deal with Yodlee to provide all that back end technology. Mint focused on the front end user experience, and did a great job with marketing. People who have knowledge of the deal say total payments from Mint to Yodlee over the last couple of years are around $2 million/year. So Yodlee made $4ish million off … Continue reading The real reason for Wesabe failure, part trois

The state of Canadian finances is still the envy of the world, yet there continue to be areas of concern that pop up.  This statistic caught my eye.  The trillion dollar figure works out to be $100,000 on average for every bankable household in Canada.  The average is deceiving though because there are many homes with no mortgages. The other statistic there is that about 38% (although the numbers in the article do not add up) of mortgages are securitised and held by others as investments.  This could be hedge funds, pension funds and other investment funds.  Obviously any impact … Continue reading The size of the Canadian mortgage market approaches $1 trillion

An interesting stat that reflects a new normal when people are consolidating and de-levering.  However the percentage decrease of 18.9% since July 2009 is not so dramatic as the headline in the Telegraph suggests. Banks approve just 1,000 mortgages a day | Daily Telegraph It is down from 34,575 mortgages the previous month and the situation has got significantly worse compared with last year, with levels down from 41,353 mortgages in July 2009.  The latest figure is half the amount of mortgages approved before the credit crisis hit. Technorati Tags: UK,mortgages,consumer confidence Continue reading UK Bank mortgage volumes down

A very smart interactive ad from ING Direct Canada that ran in Toronto metro hall.  Those are coins which are removed to bring out the full ad.  I would speculate the coins add up to $185.00 which is the theme of http://www.your185.ca http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62GKD-seO0g#sf484248 Continue reading Smart local and interactive advertising from ING

BofA have come out with a pure non branch checking account that has the right price, i.e. free.  Everything is done via online or ATM.  This type of account is gaining momentum.  Its not a game changer but with a no fee price tag, it will change behaviours of some customers. Bank of America eBanking Ideal if you do most of your banking online and at the ATM, instead of with a teller. Learn more about eBanking>> Monthly fee waived when: Deposits and withdrawals are made electronically or at our ATMs AND You choose online paperless statements through Online Banking … Continue reading eBanking – free checking from BofA

This headline caught my attention this morning. Three Years on, Is the Financial Crisis Over? | Yahoo Finance Three years ago to the day, BNP Paribas, the French banking giant, suspended redemptions on three funds, marking the beginning of the credit crunch. Sure enough it was 9th August, 2007 I posted on it and noted that the US sub prime problem was going international and pointing to deeper rooted problems with banks. Relevance to Bankwatch: Two sets of recent events underscore the heightened risks Banks are taking to improve profits.  Speculative investment in commodity markets amongst a few Banks earlier … Continue reading A status report on the banking crisis 3 years on and evidence of banks as financial utilities