Marcel keeps us updated with the latest news on ING’s Our Virtual Holland which opens today. So, it is all going to happen today! Our Virtual Holland will officially launch in Second Life. Source: OurVirtualHolland · Launch Day at Our Virtual Holland! · Shaping Thoughts Technorati tags: Second+life, ING, Virtual+Reality+Banks Continue reading Launch Day at Our Virtual Holland! (ING Bank)
Ouch! It would appear some folks have it in for BMO in the last couple of months, and the press are lapping it up. The Globe and Mail is a tier one business paper, and this kind of quote that we would normally expect on Perez Hilton is cutting to say the least. Next we can expect pictures of the senior executive with annotations al la Perez. There’s zombies walking around here [waiting for mergers]. They’ve been dead for 10 years and they’re still on the payroll. Source: Canadian Banks & Insurance The suggestion that employees are zombies I would think should (imho) be directed … Continue reading "There’s zombies walking around here [waiting for mergers]"
Excellent analysis from the Telegraph on the financials for the RBS offer. Its clearly a gutsy offer, and one of the largest ever in size, and amount of cash component. No company has ever before attempted to raise €50bn in cash for a takeover. The consortium will split ABN three ways, meaning that each will have to pay €24bn – more than half Fortis’s €44bn market cap. Bond financing is difficult for banks, as is raising straight debt, due to capital adequacy regulations. But a rights issue would have to be the largest ever attempted, topping BT’s record £5.9bn in … Continue reading Where is the €50bn in cash coming from?
The old expression springs to mind … “it ain’t over until the fat lady sings“. A group of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has said it is interested in buying Dutch bank ABN Amro in a deal worth some £49bn. The mooted offer would trump a deal that was agreed with the UK’s Barclays. Source: BBC NEWS | Business | RBS woos ABN with £49bn bid plan This offer is 13% higher, and includes Spain’s Santander and Belgium’s Fortis, who are proposing a deal worth 72bn euros (£49bn; $98bn), or 39 euros a share. The Barclays arrangement … Continue reading RBS woos ABN with £49bn bid plan
Thanks Laurent …. this is hilarious! Using Twitter for literate communication is about as likely as firing up a CB radio and hearing some guy recite ‘The Iliad’ “ Source: ballpark.ch / blog || interactive thinking Continue reading Twitter and the Iliad
This post from Jean at Javelin, resonates with me. During the early days the apparent truism that all a customers information could be simply assembled on one page, drove enormous assumptions that were over-stated. In an ideal world, FIs would have all information necessary about each individual customer’s preferences, life stage, demographic and psychographic profile, and endless other details that make the market-of-one more of a reality and less of an ideal. Source: Javelin Strategy and Research » Appealing to a Market of One The early promise was in fact a theory more than reality. This from Information Week in … Continue reading Appealing to a ‘Segment of One’ | is it a lost hope?
As noted earlier, BMO Bank of Montreal were touted as being interested in LaSalle Bank in Chicago, but general analyst sentiment places the US $21 Bn price tag that BofA appear to have secured, well out of reach. At $91-billion, a Barclay’s merger with ABN Amro dwarfs Canadian banks, and may leave them out of future plays as global consolidation rolls on. I would be shocked if Harris came to the table with a bid at this point. The largest financial services takeover ever is reigniting calls for Canadian bank mergers as Bank of Montreal appears unable to even pick … Continue reading Europe’s mega banking deal highlights the constraints that Canada places on its Banks
The merger is now official. The press release provides some idea of the size of the combined entity. The head office of the combined group will be located in Amsterdam, which baffles me, but there must be some reason. The combination of ABN AMRO and Barclays will benefit from a diversified customer base and geographic mix. The proposed merger will create: A leading force in global retail and commercial banking, with world class products: 47 million customers, approximately 90 per cent. of whom are in seven key markets One of the world’s leading transaction banking platforms offering world class payment and trade … Continue reading ABN AMRO and Barclays merger, creates fourth largest Bank
Interesting report from PEW last week on the methods used within social networks to maintain privacy. There is some thought applied, and care taken, to manage the risks. The majority of teens actively manage their online profiles to keep the information they believe is most sensitive away from the unwanted gaze of strangers, parents and other adults. While many teens post their first name and photos on their profiles, they rarely post information on public profiles they believe would help strangers actually locate them such as their full name, home phone number or cell phone number. Source: PEW There is … Continue reading Not so social as we might think?
I am always one to take the consumer view in channel management, but Canadian politicians are guilty of confusing consumers on the ATM fee issue. The Canadian Banks are quite right in their assessment of the impact on their results if they are forced to eliminate ATM Fees. Lets look at Duceppe’s (Leader # 3 party in Canada) rater ignorant comment. Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said later the banks are rich enough they should be able to absorb the cost of getting rid of ATM charges. Source: Canadian Banks & Insurance Consider the facts: The vast majority of Canadians do … Continue reading Consumers … always have the option of "voting with their feet."
