August 3, 2015
Back from the summer holiday and time to take up the Bitcoin challenge once more. In the last post, I put forward the idea that Bitcoin has some advantages over gold. This week I hope I want to look at where Bitcoin falls down as a means of payment. This is something I consider a […]
July 2, 2015
In the last post, I put forward the idea that Bitcoin could and should be treated as an asset and suggested readers think of it just like gold. This week I hope I can offer some credence to the idea that Bitcoin is better than gold. Well at least in some respects. As you read […]
June 21, 2015
Eureka. Up until last week, I had not really understood Bitcoin and had only just begun to understand how the Blockchain aka distributed ledger part of Bitcoin was going to affect financial services. More on the latter in coming weeks. This week, I hope my view of my “Bitcoin epiphany” will enlighten others. Slow Train […]
June 15, 2015
A trinity of interesting news items have inspired this week’s post: “Flaws too bad to reveal”, “Financial Services Firms Face Disruption from New Entrants” and note that this weekend UBS will go live with its ring-fenced new domestic entity. Financial Services Firms Face Disruption from New Entrants Chris Harvey, Deloitte’s Global Head of FS, shared […]
June 1, 2015
Catch 22. Transaction Banks find themselves in an awkward set of circumstances of almost perfect storm like quality. Regulation, such as BCBS 248 and LCR, forces them to do all kinds of liquidity monitoring and keep reserves in the form of HQLA, High Quality Liquid Assets. Other regulations from the payments systems set rules for […]
May 25, 2015
“Every year in transaction banking the demands are the same; either the same for less or more for the same” An accepted wisdom in our industry that I first heard quoted from a fellow Goldman Sachs alum and doyen of the custody business, Robert Kay. Well, those days are over. Transaction services, or correspondent banking, […]
May 11, 2015
Please Sir, I want less Today, your Nostro allows you an intraday overdraft limit. It is unadvised and uncommitted; the Nostro can and might take it away without notice. As a rule, Nostros process your payments on a FIFO basis. Most banks release payments to the Nostro sometime on value date – 1. As those […]
May 2, 2015
The sum of the parts may not make the whole Let’s assume you have talked to your Nostro. Yes, they will supply MT910’s and MT900’s and yes, you can agree on a price that is not daylight robbery. Wait! Do not sign-up. A couple of things to check on before you put pen to paper. […]
April 19, 2015
New rules. BCBS 248. Last week, the focus was on meeting requirements and being in line with the principles. This week, how to go about that and what it could cost. Be prepared to be shocked. Once you have understood that dealing with BCBS 248 is about more than just another month-end report, then the […]
April 12, 2015
New rules. BCBS 248. This important tome for the banking regulators Swiss refugium in Basel asks for a lot of things, which are gradually being implemented by the national regulators. Preparing for a course I am giving, I stumbled across several traps that need illuminating. This week: requirements vs. principles. The frequency of the reporting […]