Profitability1 Comment

Run on the Bank – Northern Rock

Colin Henderson

Following a request to Bank of England for liquidity support, Northern Rock [£24 billion of customer deposits] is experiencing a run on the Bank.  A likely next step will be a takeover, particularly as the share value has dropped significantly. The NR business model has been to grow aggressively, funding the growth with expensive wholesale funding.  That funding dried up, following the sub-prime crisis.  Yet another example that suggests its time to get back to basics. Run on the bank – Times Online A retired hotelier and his wife barricaded the Cheltenham branch manager in her office after being told … Continue reading Run on the Bank – Northern Rock

Profitability2 Comments

Bank of England bails out Northern Rock

Colin Henderson

A move that takes us back to the 80’s, with B of E bailing out a British Bank.  Can’t help but feel this is one of several across the world to come.  There was one earlier in Germany. Northern Rock is bailed out by Bank of England – Times Online In a rare move, the Bank of England agreed to throw the bank a lifeline and become the “lender of last resort”, effectively agreeing the first bailout of a British bank since money markets went into crisis over the summer. Continue reading Bank of England bails out Northern Rock

Open Source Banking, Social Lending2 Comments

Alistair Darling signals the end of easy money

Colin Henderson

The British Chancellor of the Exchequer takes a stand on consumer credit.  With this statement, he makes an understated, yet clear point “there are times when going back to good old-fashioned banking may not be a bad idea”. The backdrop to that statement is here …. Alistair Darling signals the end of easy money – Telegraph The country now has a consumer debt mountain of £1.3 trillion. As this newspaper has warned, with a global credit crunch making its malign presence felt, that leaves a lot of people extremely exposed, as money gets more expensive. Its clear that the lending … Continue reading Alistair Darling signals the end of easy money

AI2 Comments

AdBlocking – evil or genius?

Colin Henderson

I was more than a little shocked to encounter this post on the apparent evil of Adblock Plus. [disclosure; I have used Adblock then Adblock plus for years]. A few months ago, I was shocked to see FaceBook on a colleagues laptop, with ads all over the place …. I had no idea! Mark Evans – The Evilness of Eating Your Cake and Having it Too Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. Any anyone using Adblock is a fool because they clearly are missing the big economic picture. If you believe in Web 2.0 and/or if you believe in … Continue reading AdBlocking – evil or genius?

Uncategorized

Social networks, the application web and Banking

Colin Henderson

The direction of social networks and the application web are of interest to me. Why? I believe the social web could be of extreme value, but only if it is of value to us all. People join social networks and get value from them, but don’t pay for it. There is no business model, and the assumption everyone leaps to is advertising. Yet people are flocking to FaceBook, so there is something compelling there. With regard to business model, marketers continue to try to gain access to social networks, and when FaceBook opened themselves up as an application platform (F8) … Continue reading Social networks, the application web and Banking

Security

China’s ambitions extend to crippling an enemy’s financial, military and communications capabilities

Colin Henderson

Military intelligence is not normally for this blog, there is an undercurrent in this new military front, that is directly aimed at Banks and financial services. No doubt our side is developing those same capabilities, but the prospect of being pawns, and the customer disruption prospect is real.  All the more reason, for Banks to develop multiple channels, and have a mobile strategy, that might be their main customer contact point in a crisis. “China’s ambitions extend to crippling an enemy’s financial, military and communications capabilities early in a conflict” The extent of the work in this area is astonishing, … Continue reading China’s ambitions extend to crippling an enemy’s financial, military and communications capabilities

Security1 Comment

HSBC investigates ‘out of band’ authentication for Web users

Colin Henderson

I applaud HSBC and Abbey National for not being lemmings on the European push to chip and pin for online banking.  Its actually not just Europe, with some Canadian examples I am familiar with thinking the same way.  Finextra: HSBC investigates ‘out of band’ authentication for Web users HSBC and Abbey have so far opted-out of the national banking industry push to supply online account holders with Chip and PIN-style home banking technology. Such systems are considered vulnerable to man-in-middle attacks and require the consumer to carry a personal card reader at all times. Continue reading HSBC investigates ‘out of band’ authentication for Web users

Open Source Banking, Social networks

What Banks need to expect when getting into social apps | TD Bank

Colin Henderson

After the post on RBC p2p, a colleague pointed out this piece on the TD experience in FaceBook.  While the article characterises this as ‘not plain sailing’ I say the opposite.  This is the new plain sailing so its time to adapt and get used to it.  TD and TBC are leading the charge in Canada – who is next? The Better Banking Blog: Social networking rule no. 1: expect criticism After asking the audience if Australia has Facebook (yes Brian, we have the Internet here too), Haier went on to discuss the reaction to the site from employees who … Continue reading What Banks need to expect when getting into social apps | TD Bank

Open Source Banking, Social networks

How often does a bank ask you for your input? | RBC p2p

Colin Henderson

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) are quietly intrducing a new site that I would place firmly in the social space.  It is just getting going, and could be on a level of significance with Wells Fargo’s Studentloandown.  RBC p2p – Not your parents’ banking site How often does a bank ask you for your input? We’re asking, so get ready. RBC p2p is a Royal Bank of Canada site for students by students. The idea is that you’ll learn about things like budgeting or saving or investments, from people who are going through the same things you are. I like … Continue reading How often does a bank ask you for your input? | RBC p2p

AI

Credit card companies pursue subprime borrowers

Colin Henderson

Interesting subtext to the sub prime crisis, as credit card companies, target those same sub prime mortgage borrowers. Credit card companies pursue subprime borrowers – International Herald Tribune For credit card companies, the subprime market is a profitable one, analysts and consumer advocates say. Subprime customers, charged higher rates than those with better credit, are more likely to make minimum payments, maintaining balances that generate interest revenue for card issuers, consumer advocates said. Continue reading Credit card companies pursue subprime borrowers