I stepped down as a CEO, superseded by a Chief Robot Officer

09 Jan 2017

By 2040 most financial institutions may be run by robots. Yesterday I entered on the web of my "digital" bank. I have €10,000 in my bank account. As I open the system it offers me an automatic credit. Guess for how much? €10,000!! And why do I need a €10,000 credit that I already have in the checking account? This is what is called the D...

Google's Larry Page buys a 'major global bank'

19 Sep 2016

Can you imagine the reaction of a bank employee if one morning he reads this headline? In the spring of 2010 I polled the students of the Master of Finance about how many of them would rather work for Google instead of a bank. Survey results: 5%. Last Friday I have made the same question for the current group. Survey results: 96%. Despite the effo...

Disruptive Mentality in Banking

01 Aug 2016

Banks must lower their services cost to at least 10% of their current cost. 3D printers cost $40,000 in 2007, $100 in 2016. Drones cost $100,000 in 2007, versus $100 in 2016. Knowing the sequence of the full human DNA used to cost $10 million in 2007 and in 2016 it only costs $100. All this has been achieved thanks to processes of exponential grow...

1

Digital Banking Transformation: BBVA vs. Banco Santander.

04 Jul 2016

In the following 5 years banks may lose 50% of their business. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say in 5 years banks will lose 50% of their business. I am pretty sure that the major banks handle this scenario. If not, why announce so insistently their strategy to shift to a digital transformation? In a low interest rate scenario, with low ma

8