Profitability, sub prime, subprime2 Comments

First the bad news … | Sub Prime crisis – the next 6 – 12 month view

Colin Henderson

The simple message here, is that the dollar value of sub prime mortgages (dark grey bars) that are subject to reset [read significant increase in loan payment amount] is still growing, and continues until October 2007 ($33 Bn in October), suggesting bad news still to come. However resets then begin to drop through till end of 2008, when its down to a relative trickle. The significant dark grey form Jan 2007, through to Dec 2008 will generate a lag effect through 2008, and well into 2009 on the US housing market. [hat tip mypocketchange] My Pocket Change » Pssst… I … Continue reading First the bad news … | Sub Prime crisis – the next 6 – 12 month view

AI5 Comments

How refreshing is Mint?

Colin Henderson

Ed over at Wells, asks about Mint, who were at TechCrunch40 this week.  Pertuity | another way to look at your finances « The Bankwatch What do you think of Mint, the latest “Communal Finance” tool in this space? I had thought I would give them time to get some customers, and see how they do.   It seems kind of like a Quicken with a touch of Wesabe.  We know that Quicken was too complicated, and appealed to only a narrow group, so its refreshing to see Mint promote simplicity.  After all the aggregation talk in 1999, we also know … Continue reading How refreshing is Mint?

VRM

Applications, platforms, and VRM

Colin Henderson

Nice analysis, and context setting here from Joe.  I continue to watch the concept of VRM, and agree that the directions being set by platforms such as F8 and related tools will be useful in helping someone to narrow down tools that allow people to own and lever their preferences to get better service, and more simply locate what they want to buy. joeandrieu.com » Blog Archive » Marc Andreessen hits three nails on the head… … the most powerful platform of all: platforms that are completed distributed and designed to run on other peoples platforms. This “Level 4″ Platform … Continue reading Applications, platforms, and VRM

AI

Ostrich burger, and a medium mortgage to go …

Colin Henderson

Great article in this weeks Economist on algorithms.  The theme lies in the mind numbing amount of data avalable now, and how mathematics can help solve complex problems, varying from the UPS driver and plane scheduling to Tesco product targetting. Algorithms | Business by numbers | Economist.com It works by assigning attributes to each of the products on Tesco’s shelves. These range from easy-to-cook to value-for-money, from adventurous to fresh. In order to give ratings for every dimension of a product, the rolling-ball algorithm starts at the extremes: ostrich burgers, say, would count as very adventurous. The algorithm then trawls … Continue reading Ostrich burger, and a medium mortgage to go …

Web/Tech3 Comments

Note to Bank CIO/ CTO | Time to review web based Office Apps

Colin Henderson

As discussed last year, and related to the 5 computer theory, the ‘Office suite’ space just went red hot, with Google Presentation now live, and IBM stepping back into it, with the annoucement of Lotus Symphony (name from the past :-|). IBM Deals Itself Into Microsoft Office Space With Free Lotus Suite IBM has announced the launch of a free Microsoft Office competitor: Lotus Symphony, at the same time Google launched its final product in the triple play office suite Presently. Relevance to Bankwatch:If you haven’t looked at web applications, now is the time.  Two questions to ask: What are … Continue reading Note to Bank CIO/ CTO | Time to review web based Office Apps

Business Models3 Comments

Pertuity | another way to look at your finances

Colin Henderson

Pertuity strikes me as something different than the others we have seen, and their ‘anchor’ product, Dare to Compare is quite revolutionary, with potential to help people a lot especially as they build out the financial actions, that result. It would also fit nicely within or alongside something like Wesabe data for example. Our anchor product for our initial launch is Dare to Compare; a peer to peer financial comparison widget. You can try it out on our website via a quick and free registration. Users can compare themselves (around income, savings and debt) to (i) their peers in their … Continue reading Pertuity | another way to look at your finances

AI

Chip transaction protection comes a step closer in Canada

Colin Henderson

This first transaction brings Canada closer to being in line with Asian and European countries with chip and pin protection for debit and credit transactions.  [hat tip to Payments news] Interac Association – Media > Press Releases Toronto, Ontario, September 12, 2007– As part of its commitment to providing the safest and most secure payment network, Interac Association today announced the completion of Canada’s first INTERAC debit card transaction at the point-of-sale terminal using chip technology. The transaction was processed today by TD Merchant Services using a BMO Bank of Montreal chip debit card at Mercato Giovanni’s Fresh Food located … Continue reading Chip transaction protection comes a step closer in Canada

Self Service5 Comments

A new use of the Wesabe API makes switching banks easier

Colin Henderson

Marc at Wesabe writes about two companies, and their use of the new Wesabe API.  I wanted to focus on one of them with a Banking context – BankSwitcher. Wheaties for Your Wallet » Blog Archive » LessAccounting, BankSwitcher, and the Wesabe API BankSwitcher is a service to help people switch their accounts from one bank to another. They just launched their site yesterday, with Wesabe API support baked in from the start. They use your Wesabe transaction data to identify automatic payments and deposits you have set up at your old bank, and to create a “Switching Checklist” that … Continue reading A new use of the Wesabe API makes switching banks easier