Posted on July 13th, 2009 by Tom Groenfeldt
Better add Vanity Fair and yes, Rolling Stone, to your reading list if you want to understand the financial crisis. No longer are Banking Technology, the Economist and the FT enough.
In the current Vanity Fair Michael Lewis, of “Liar’s Poke” fame, delves into the role played by AIG Financial Products.
“Here is an amazing fact,” writes [...]
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Posted on July 13th, 2009 by Tom Groenfeldt
Could American consumers come out of this crisis with a little help from Washington? The Obama administration is pushing a new consumer protection agency to regulate the bankers, and the bankers are going to do their best to kill it.
This agency would focus solely on the consumer and the proposed legislation would give it the [...]
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Posted on April 28th, 2009 by fabien buliard
Among the many consequences of the current economic context is a rise in hostile feelings directed at the banking industry. In France, this appears to have translated into increased rudeness and aggressive behaviour from irate customers interacting with banking staff. The French Banking Association said recently that the number of “incivilities” had risen by 20% [...]
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Posted on February 5th, 2009 by fabien buliard
The vendor community’s marketing and external communication efforts generally tend to be directed at the corporate world: the financial institutions that make up their client base, and, in the case of listed companies, investors and analysts.
But for some technology providers, such as smart card and terminal vendors, while the initial customer usually is a financial [...]
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Posted on February 5th, 2009 by fabien buliard
In the continuously negative news flow that has surrounded the banking industry in the last few months, technology hasn’t really been the main focus of attention. However, there is little doubt that IT spending in European banks will suffer in the coming months, as confirmed by a recent report by research firm Celent.
It predicts that [...]
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Posted on February 2nd, 2009 by Tom Groenfeldt
London’s conservative Mayor Boris Johnson on PM Gordon Brown:
“A sherry-crazed dowager who has lost the family silver at roulette.”
Not bad.
Brown seems to be an excellent target.
“The House has noticed the Prime Minister’s remarkable transformation in the last few weeks from Stalin to Mr Bean.” That from Vincent Cable, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats.
And going [...]
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Posted on January 30th, 2009 by David Bannister
Anyone looking for something to talk about over a Friday lunchtime pint could do worse than look at the The Blame Game, the latest offering from the creative bods in The Times graphics department. It seems that Gordon Brown isn’t totally to blame for the credit crisis …
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Posted on December 1st, 2008 by fabien buliard
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) seems an unlikely candidate to pull banks out of the messiest financial crisis in decades, given the disappointing results experienced by many institutions after their first wave of CRM investments.
Yet that is the very thing suggested in a joint press release by the European Financial Management & Marketing Association and Atos [...]
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Posted on November 4th, 2008 by Tom Groenfeldt
Investment analysts are all over the map on whether the market downturn has nearly reached a bottom or whether a much deeper bottom is waiting, and it could be several years away.
The problems are varied, but many stem from inadequate regulation. Lawrence Cohen QC, a member of the Chancery Bar Association in the UK, cites [...]
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Posted on October 31st, 2008 by fabien buliard
Less than a year after Jérôme Kerviel’s exploits at SocGen made the headlines, it is now another French banking group, Caisse d’Epargne, that is reporting a violation of its internal rules leading to a €751-million loss related to derivatives trading. Traders allegedly exceeded their limits, internal controls have failed, and charges have been pressed. Sound [...]
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