Join the Community

23,573
Expert opinions
41,335
Total members
389
New members (last 30 days)
198
New opinions (last 30 days)
29,157
Total comments

Latest expert opinions

clear
clear

23 Results from 2016

Graham Seel

Graham Seel Principal Consultant at BankTech Consulting

Squeezed Interest Margins - Incentive for Innovation

Because of increasing competition, and low interest rates, net interest income is going down. This isn’t what our shareholders and members want. But what can we do about it? In a previous post, I listed a number of significant challenges and opportunities for community banks. In this, and following posts, I will dig a bit deeper into innovative ap...

/retail Innovation in Financial Services

Graham Seel

Graham Seel Principal Consultant at BankTech Consulting

OK We Need to Innovate. But Where Do We Start?

Community banks need to innovate. Most of us accept that. Too much is changing around us, too many other players are jumping on our turf. Regulators seem out to strangle us. And customers demand more and more. Community banks need to be strategic and tactical about innovation. Innovation should be driven by corporate strategy. It should be carried...

/retail Innovation in Financial Services

Graham Seel

Graham Seel Principal Consultant at BankTech Consulting

Models Are Essential for Banks, but How Do We Know They’re Right?

Banks are dependent upon models of all kinds. This is because reality is much too complex for us to understand well enough for perfect predictions of the future. Models are used as a simplification of reality. The problem is that this introduces uncertainty, which means risk. Regulators are very concerned about model risk. They require that banks ...

/regulation Innovation in Financial Services

Graham Seel

Graham Seel Principal Consultant at BankTech Consulting

Is Blockchain Really the Answer to Global Payments?

Ripple (amongst others) promises to disrupt correspondent banking by driving out delay, cost, complexity, and uncertainty. Will it deliver on this promise? Ripple has recently announced Series B funding of $55 million from some pretty prestigious players. After announcing the Ripple Global Settlement Network, they have 15 of the world’s 50 larges...

/payments Innovation in Financial Services

Graham Seel

Graham Seel Principal Consultant at BankTech Consulting

Is Community Bank Innovation Strategic or Tactical? Yes

Everyone likes to think they’re strategic. And that they can be tactical when they need to. When it comes down to it, though, how many of us are really either? How often have you heard someone ask what the strategy is, only to be told “this is a tactical project, so there’s isn’t a strategy”? What nonsense that is! There is no real tactical initia...

/retail Innovation in Financial Services

Graham Seel

Graham Seel Principal Consultant at BankTech Consulting

Innovation Basics for Community Banks and Credit Unions

“We must innovate!” Are you sick of hearing this yet? Are you focused on revenue growth, expense management and the increasing burden of regulatory compliance? If so, innovation may be the furthest thing from your mind. And yet the plaintive refrain continues, and it has merit. Why Innovate? Not because everyone else is doing it, that’s for sure.

/retail Innovation in Financial Services

Graham Seel

Graham Seel Principal Consultant at BankTech Consulting

Alternative Lending: Friend or Foe to Banks?

An Interview with Glenn Goldman of Credibly Recently I had the opportunity to pose a few questions to Glenn Goldman, CEO of alternate small business lender Credibly. I have used Credibly as an example of an alternative lender – this piece is not intended to endorse them or otherwise. However, by way of background, they have focused on providing lo...

/wholesale Innovation in Financial Services

Graham Seel

Graham Seel Principal Consultant at BankTech Consulting

It Takes a Village to Manage Operational Risk

Whose job is it to manage operational risk? The Chief Risk Officer? Check Operations Management? Check Compliance? Check Data Management? Check Technology Providers, FinTech and RegTech? Check Yours and mine? Check! Yesterday I had the pleasure and privilege of moderating a great panel discussion on Big Data Analytics for Risk Management. The dis...

/regulation Innovation in Financial Services

Graham Seel

Graham Seel Principal Consultant at BankTech Consulting

What Every FinTech CEO Should Know About Risk Management

A FinTech CEO who doesn’t understand risk management is at a crushing disadvantage. Why? Banking at its core IS the business of managing risk. Banks don’t just have to be risk-aware. They are in the business of managing risk on other people’s behalf – that’s the primary reason they exist. Banks look after our deposits, ensuring they don’t get lost...

/regulation Innovation in Financial Services

Graham Seel

Graham Seel Principal Consultant at BankTech Consulting

How Many Lawyers Does It Take to Save a FinTech?

Bank regulation is older than you think. The ancient Code of Hammurabi, which predates Moses and the Biblical legal code of the Pentateuch, includes rules for interest-bearing loans (not more than 30% interest for past due loan repayments!) Since then, review of the history of banking shows that regulation of financial services has become more an...

/regulation Innovation in Financial Services

Now Hiring