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There is Life Beyond the Valley and they might just not speak English

Colin Henderson

Every once in a while I feel have to take the San Francisco echo chamber to task. It often happens around Le Web oddly enough. I have pasted a few comments from Roberts post below and you will get the idea. The premise is founded on the internet world being centred in California and the tools that are built there, including Twitter and Facebook. World-brand-building mistakes France’s entrepreneurs make | Scobleizer So, since you were meeting with us and since we’ve spent precious resources getting there and had sizeable opportunity costs, I figure entrepreneurs should be better prepared. In this … Continue reading There is Life Beyond the Valley and they might just not speak English

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Everyone’s internet is different

Colin Henderson

Steve Rubel sums up his observations from the always insightful Le Web conference in Paris this week. His second observation caught my attention and reflects how both I and my friends see the web. Three Observations from Le Web Second, nowadays no two people see the same Internet. This was a key point that Facebook made, saying that we increasingly discover online content not just by algorithms but via the "lens of friends." Microsoft researcher Danah Boyd brought this to life through rich, moving stories. Google’s Marissa Mayer went a step further saying that the future of news is a … Continue reading Everyone’s internet is different

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Peer-to-peer lending gets a new regulatory regime in the US

Colin Henderson

A fascinating development in the US as a new regulator for peer-to-peer lending appears following vigorous efforts from Prosper to promote an even handed regulatory regime for both borrowers and lenders. Currently the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the prime regulator, and a similar situation exists in Canada. The creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) is apparently designed to protect consumers in a host of financial services from p2p lending to reverse mortgages. Certainly more to come on that, but interesting for peer-to-peer lending. Prosper Hails House Passage of Landmark Peer-to-Peer Lending Reforms “Once again, Representative Jackie … Continue reading Peer-to-peer lending gets a new regulatory regime in the US

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Bank of Canada notes consumer credit remains a risk

Colin Henderson

Despite the general view that Canada and its banks is in relatively better condition that international peers, down side risks remain, and are relatively unchanged since Jun 2009. This statement sums that up, and introduces a key point about this crisis and how little has been done to prevent re-occurrence. Bank of Canada Financial System Review Despite notable improvement in funding markets, funding and liquidity constraints remain an important area of vulnerability. Should a negative shock occur, such as a renewed downturn in the global economy or a loss of investor confidence, funding and liquidity pressures would likely reappear relatively … Continue reading Bank of Canada notes consumer credit remains a risk

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The first genuine payment innovation for a while | Square

Colin Henderson

Jack Dorsey and colleagues have announced Square; a mobile payment acquiring terminal that is small enough to fit on a key fob, and works through any mobile phone with an earphone plug. First iteration works with the iphone, but it will work with blackberry and others. The common requirement appears to be a mobile device that accepts 3rd party apps, and has a standard earphone jack. The device and application acquires the data through conversion of sound into data, then transmits. The device is designed to replace the merchant terminal for small businesses, replace the monthly terminal fee, and replace … Continue reading The first genuine payment innovation for a while | Square

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Limited Purpose Banking using Mutual Funds to replace banks

Colin Henderson

I recently covered Mervyn Kings proposal for Utility Banking; a banking business model that separates banking banking services from high risk investments. For example utility banking as I see it, would cover day to day chequing, savings, loans and mortgages, ATM’s, and online banking. It would have traditional FDIC type deposit insurance, and utility banks would be subject to capital requirements and would not be permitted to participate in off balance sheet banking, nor securitisation. Think James Stewart and ‘Its a Wonderful Life’. In this piece Niall Ferguson takes it further suggesting that the Utility Banking approach still leaves the … Continue reading Limited Purpose Banking using Mutual Funds to replace banks

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FDIC report on US Banks’ financial profitability confirm dire circumstances

Colin Henderson

These graphs extracted from the latest US FDIC quarterly report display the long term impact of the crisis on the US Banks. Their predicament has a much earlier lead time, and a suggests a far longer expected period for improvement to anything close to pre 2008 results. People are in retrenching mode, and the consumer confidence and asset values that drove banking business volumes until 2007 are not returning in the near future, depsite the stock market growth which has occurred in 2009. Loan losses remain 400% higher than the 2001/ 2007 period. when related to Operating Revenue. Relevance to … Continue reading FDIC report on US Banks’ financial profitability confirm dire circumstances

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‘UK banks set to vote on abolition of cheques’ | Finextra

Colin Henderson

A headline like that is music to my ears. The fact that Banks in UK, Canada and European countries (less so US) are still spending enormous sums on a set of fixed cost infrastructure designed to manage volumes in cheques that are orders of magnitude larger. The ultimate irony here is that it is the government considering this move. As the largest shareholder in Banks, perhaps this is the responsible thing for them to do, to enhance their investment. Indeed it is hard to imagine any one bank having the gumption to eliminate cheques. UK banks set to vote on … Continue reading ‘UK banks set to vote on abolition of cheques’ | Finextra

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‘The Shape of Business – The Next 10 years’ | CBI

Colin Henderson

Confederation of British Industry (CBI) have issued this paper. It is a short but useful discussion on what business ought to consider in the UK, but my reading suggests most western economies. It touches on the main categories of concern of business, people issues, environmental, partnerships, supply chain and technology Here is an excerpt from the Table of Contents, followed by the conclusion. Download: The shape of business – the next ten years (PDF 2MB) | CBI The Changing Business Environment Changing finance and capital conditions The decline of trust in business and markets A less benign macroeconomic environment Social … Continue reading ‘The Shape of Business – The Next 10 years’ | CBI