US1 Comment

Hats of to BofA for fostering the conversation

Colin Henderson

This is an impressive about face from Bank of America, and I commend them. It was only one year ago at the Forrester Research Financial Forum in NY, that I heard senior BofA people state they would listen to online criticism, but not participate because of the risks. A small toe in the water, but its a start. Bucking tradition, firms increasingly let customers vent on corporate sites – The Boston Globe “We felt that in the offline world customers communicate with other customers about our products and services, so why not allow them to do it in the online … Continue reading Hats of to BofA for fostering the conversation

EU, US

China and Japan spending time to improve relations

Colin Henderson

Interesting goings on in Tokyo this week. I know people in Roppongi, and the traffic is completely snarled by the effect of this visit which is for several days it turns out. Locally it is out of the ordinary. Its a dramatic shift from the days of Mr Koizumi, and has consequences for international trade and banking given the combined size of these two economies relative to US or Eurozone. FT.com / Asia-Pacific / China – Japan and China cement relations The leaders of Japan and China agreed on Wednesday on measures, including annual summit meetings and stepped-up civil and … Continue reading China and Japan spending time to improve relations

Payments

Mobile operators are focusing their payments initiatives on … unbanked

Colin Henderson

Payments News makes a point that is becoming consequential in strategic terms for Banks. Mobile Payments = cheap remittances for the unbanked. Yet the ‘banked’ continue to pay high fees … hmmmm Payments News: A Look at Orange Money – May 07, 2008 As we’ve seen previously with M-PESA in Kenya, the mobile operators are focusing much of their mobile payments initiatives on markets where a large majority of the population is unbanked. Continue reading Mobile operators are focusing their payments initiatives on … unbanked

research1 Comment

things I read yesterday … 05/07/2008

Colin Henderson

Here Comes the P2P Economy – Harvard Business Online’s Conversation Starter Just located the entire HBR article online with no subscription required tags: harvard business review, clblog, HBR, p2p It is only a matter of time before these digital systems close the arbitrage enjoyed by large banks, which lend at up to 15% interest but pay only about 5% on capital. Why do business with a bank when your network’s lending and savings interest rates are both 7%? To grasp the power of such a system, imagine your local credit union with the membership and social networking capabilities of MySpace. Continue reading things I read yesterday … 05/07/2008

Social networks3 Comments

Worklight aims to attract corporations into the social network space

Colin Henderson

Worklight has secured $12 million in series B funding. While their headline is a vague sounding “highly- personalized “Web 2.0″ computing experience to the enterprise”, the reality is that they offer a secure corporate experience within the Facebook platform. The indicate on their site, that all personal data, and corporate information discussed is maintained within the firewall, and that corporate experience is plugged into FaceBook. Its not clear how people would know which part they can speak openly, and which parts they would be able to share confidential information though. Its an interesting idea to try and attract corporations into … Continue reading Worklight aims to attract corporations into the social network space

US

US banks continue to tighten lending

Colin Henderson

The credit crunch for consumers in North America is on for real now according to these statistics. FT.com / In depth – US banks continue to tighten lending Moreover, banks continued to tighten credit standards on mortgages across the board, reducing the availability of funds to finance purchases of homes. About 62 per cent said they tightened standards on prime loans, while 76 per cent tightened standards on “non-traditional loans”. A historically high proportion of banks said they were tightening terms on credit cards and other consumer loans, while many also pointed to reduced involvement in the student loan business. Continue reading US banks continue to tighten lending

Uncategorized

A different set of economic problems still to come

Colin Henderson

There are stories all over the world that remain in the subtext, but are centred on one issue … inflaton.  There is much talk of emerging economies.  The facts are that many of the countries that are credited with the growth potential (Russia, China, India) will still find themselves in the situation of significant inflation, and that will result in changes to policies in those countries, that will have global implications. In short the future is not linear, and certainly not as clear as what we might think. ft.com Spare capacity in the economy (Russia), which facilitated its rapid growth … Continue reading A different set of economic problems still to come

AI2 Comments

Bank account portability | Australia

Colin Henderson

This development in Australia sounds groundbreaking if it comes to be.  The concept is account number portability.  The idea is that consumers would own their identity reference and could move it between Banks.  If this concept flies it would be a dramatic shift forward for consumers. The Better Banking blog Instead of a bank account number and BSB, individuals would register for their own BPAY code which could be used to facilitate payments. Consumers could then port their number from bank to bank without the need to re-establish direct debits or credits, and use it to enable online payments. Relevance … Continue reading Bank account portability | Australia