We’ve seen a number of attempts to re-enact the crash of 2008 from the perspective of the lead players. It’s all been well documented; “Too Big to Fail”, the crisis weekend and the search for white knights to save the troubled banks. Margin Call a movie written and directed by JC...
While the “local” trend has been around for a while, it’s mostly been focused around the “soft” things like farmer’s markets and some large corporations acknowledged the trend’s presence by trying harder to appear more “local” and to be more...
The latest data from Edelman's Trust Barometer makes for a compelling read. As the chart above illustrates; banking seems to be suffering something of a trust crisis, while technology and automotive appear to be doing much better.It's clear that banking needs to follow more in the footsteps of...
While there have been a few promising innovators in the field of financial services, like Mint and some peer to peer lenders, nothing has really shaken the industry out of its lethargy and done something to meet the real needs of consumers.BankSimple could be about to change that. Instead of trying...
While we are being told by the likes of The Futures Company that American corporations are disconnected and distrusted by consumers, outside of oil companies, banks seem to be the category in the most trouble. The latest foreclosure crisis is a case in point. Something appears really rotten in the...
Bank 2.0 is a new book on the future of banking by Brett King, it takes a look at the technological and societal trends that are forcing a massive change in the way we bank, which has obvious implications for the giant institutions that support consumer banking.King suggests that the branch...
In recent weeks, we've witnessed the spectacle of the world's most powerful bank being dragged before the US senate to answer questions of allegedly in-appropriate business behavior. The brand had reached a point where its very power threatened it. While others suffered, Goldman prospered and its...
Edelman has just released it's annual survey and to prove it seems to be measuring the right things, the data it uncovered on banks is astonishing- their trust rating has plummeted like a stone- from the 3rd ranked sector in the US to the 9th and a rating drop in excess of 30 points. Looking at...
It looks like Americans are becoming allergic to debt, the numbers had been accelerating upwards every single year, The Fed started records in 1979, now it looks like they are tumbling downwards. What defines a country when new homes, new cars and the debt financing of those material possessions...
It's hard to keep track of the economic news these days with various divergent perspectives and points of view, but it pays to listen to the experts and in this case, Tim Geithner , who heads up the US Treasury.Here's a quote from a testimony he gave to congress yesterday."However, the financial...
Everyone knows that many banks are still in trouble and most people have a clear idea where the blame lies, with the banks themselves. Quite simply, there's no love lost between bank customers and the executives who are seen as part of a financial establishment that's taken advantage of exploitable...
While money is tight and the world seems to be stuck trying to work out where it's heading next, the conference industry seems to move forward always looking for new opportunities to bring people together to network and discuss. Despite the tight caps on travel and expense budgets, if the topic is...
Thanks to the FDIC, people don't have to worry about the security of their bank deposits, which in turn means banks don't really have to worry about their brands. Despite the events of the past 12 months and the lack of trust in Wall Street and banking, the bank brands don't really have to pay the...
Of course, the time is right to launch a new bank complete with a new set of values, but importantly, a new way of doing things. Banks have been masters of trying to tell a story of change and doing very little about it. Ally Bank is a new entity that's arisen out of the former GMAC. It should have...
Banks are obviously in the firing line at this moment in time and some are doing some pretty desperate things to try and maintain their credibility.It's therefore refreshing to see Bank of America build on its "Keep The Change" program with "Add it Up"; a program that allows its customers to obtain...