1135 Results from 2009
Retired Member
Incredible. As I indicated in a previous blog, I sent a letter to my bank seeking clarification about my credit standing with them after they had sent me a loan offer priced at the astronomical rate of 19.9%. I asked very clearly for a response that expressly addressed what had changed in my specific circumstances. You won't be surprised to hear ...
19 January 2009 /regulation /retail Online Banking
John Cant Managing Director at MPI Europe Ltd
If Murphy’s Law didn’t already exist, they would have had to invent it to help explain what has happened to the financial sector over the past six months or so. Over the years there have been many proverbs or sayings predicting the inevitability of disasters. However, it fell to one Edward Aloysius Murphy Jr. around 1949, whilst working on a serie...
19 January 2009 /regulation /wholesale Banking Architecture
Matt White North America editor at Finextra
Barely a week goes by without a data loss story making an appearance on Finextra. A good proportion of these involve staff stupidity so I wasn't particularly surprised when a press release made its way to us claiming 9000 USB sticks are accidently left at UK dry cleaners every year. Data security vendor Credant surveyed 500 dry cleaners and found ...
19 January 2009 /security Whatever...
A recent Charities Commission report found that one in four charities have seen a drop in donations in 2008 while one in 12 is experiencing severe financial trouble. It is easy to see why this is happening and it’s a sad fact of the current economic times. Consumers are simply being squashed from all directions: council tax, utility bills, increa...
19 January 2009 /payments /retail
Downadup aka Conficker is a rather nasty worm which attacks a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. The infection rate is going through the roof according to researchers at F-Secure. The figures are sobering with 6.5 million new infections in four days, although some security experts are questioning the figures. Microsoft did release an emergency pat...
19 January 2009 /security
It's good to see BofA getting involved with Twitter but there do seem to be a couple of associated security concerns. The bank is effectively using its feed as a help desk. Its man at the coalface, David Knapp, communicates through tweets with customers who are having issues with their accounts and then, it appears, normally asks for a phone numbe...
16 January 2009 Information Security
It's amazing how many times this happens https://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=19530. Presumably, the wrong notes have been loaded in the wrong hoppers...? If so, this is easily rectified...at least it was when I worked in a branch. Back in the old days (someone bring me my bathchair and a nice comfy blanket...), we used to have an ATM card l...
16 January 2009 /retail Transaction Banking
Gary Wright Analyst at BISS Research
At this week's Securities & Investment Institute debate in London's Mansion House some eminent speakers in front of an expert audience debated "In this current financial environment, more financial regulation is a major part of the solution". The speakers for the motion were Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat and Shadow Chancellor and Dav
16 January 2009 MiFID
Stanley Epstein Associate at Citadel Advantage Group
There has been news in recent weeks in the press that the banks continue to wield undue influence, aimed at protecting their powers. This time the news comes from Kenya and it's all about M-PESA. For the uninitiated M-PESA is a micro-payments and banking system based on the mobile phone. The service is aimed at mobile users who do not have a bank...
15 January 2009 /payments /retail
Today I went to my bank to draw MY money from MY account. Even doing this without the assistance of a surly bank teller costs me money in transaction fees. I do the work, on the bank's equipment on my own account and I have to pay for the privilege. Anyhow even after having accepted this type of abuse over many years and grown used to it, I was in...
15 January 2009 /retail
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