Strategies for Financial Institutions to Succeed in the Next Phase of the GenAI Competition

Amid the fervor to leverage the potential of AI, numerous financial institutions are overlooking the nuanced aspects of various AI types. Consequently, they are neglecting the formulation of comprehensive, enduring strategies. A recent report from BCG presents a framework designed to cultivate the potential of AI while simultaneously addressing and minimizing associated risks.

Read the full story HERE.

Challenge of Real-Time Payments for Legacy Banks

In a world of immediate payment options like Venmo and Zelle, most U.S. banks are still using the same payment-processing technology they installed in the 1980s. Consumers have come to embrace real-time payments, looking increasingly to digital-first nonbank financial players for increased speed and convenience. It has created a landscape where many legacy banks are lagging behind both their customers’ expectations and their competitors’ capabilities.

To explore how legacy banks can get up to speed on real-time services, PaymentsJournal sat down with John Brady, Chief Architect and Head of Engineering at BillGo, as well as Elisa Tavilla, Director of Debit Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research.

Listen to this PODCAST HERE.

Revolut Refines U.S. Product Mix

The super app Revolut aspires to build the U.S. into one of its major markets, but has found that American consumers have unique financial preferences. How is the neobank adjusting its growth strategy and product portfolio, while keeping a sharp eye on a new competitor named Musk?

Check it out HERE

Big banks are quietly cutting thousands of employees, and more layoffs are coming

Even as the economy has surprised forecasters with its resilience, lenders have cut headcount or announced plans to do so, with the key exception being JPMorgan Chase.

The next five largest U.S. banks cut a combined 20,000 positions so far this year, according to company filings.

A key factor driving the cuts is that job-hopping in finance slowed drastically from earlier years, leaving banks with more people than they expected.

Read the full story HERE.

Lehman Brothers - The Bank That Bust The World

In 2008, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, causing the global financial crisis. 

In this video, we'll explore the history of Lehman Brothers and the 2008 financial crisis, from sub prime mortgages to the global recession. This video is for history buffs, financial experts, and anyone who wants to learn more about the 2008 financial crisis. 

Lehman Brothers is a key player in this epic story, and we'll tell you all about the bank that broke the world.  

This is a definitive account of the September 2008 collapse of the banking giant Lehman Brothers that precipitated the global financial crisis. A panel of world leaders and CEOs discuss the tense negotiations that took place in New York and London as the investment bank spiralled towards bankruptcy. 

Among those featured in this BBC documentary are the then UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alastair Darling and US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

The Lazarus Heist - Jackpotting - A massive attack on ATMs worldwide

Millions of dollars are stolen from ATMs at the same time in 28 countries. An army of money mules stuff the cash into bags. Do they know who they are really working for? In just over two hours, the thieves take nearly $14 million - all from the accounts of Cosmos Bank in India. The hackers are back!

Listen to this fascinating story from the BBC HERE.

Silicon Valley Bailout

A number of things went wrong at Silicon Valley Bank over the last days, weeks and years, there were huge failures of risk management. The risk manager would have some tough questions to answer, except that it appears that they didn’t have a risk manager on staff for almost nine months of the last year. There were issues tied to the different regulations applied to community banks when compared to national banks in the United States. There were investment decisions that were made that are difficult to understand, and the final stroke was a capital raise attempt that had next no chance of succeeding. You can’t raise capital from investors on the same day that you announce a close to two-billion-dollar hole in your balance sheet and the equity is tanking in value. Anyhow, let’s go over the issues at Silicon Valley Bank, try and understand how banks work, look at the latest news (at date of publication), and try to imagine how things might work out going forward.

Bank Runs! What's Going On?

Banks don’t fail very often, and bank runs appear to be mostly a thing of the past. The last bank failure in the United States happened in 2020 when a small bank in Kansas failed. That two-year streak was broken this Wednesday with the failure of the crypto focused bank Silvergate, and on Friday with the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.

Bank-Fintech Relationships - Where Are They Headed?

Banks and fintechs are like the financial services' version of ‘The Odd Couple.’ Fintechs and neobanks are going through a rough patch, which, for some, will be fatal. The banking industry continues to go through seismic changes, with worse to come. At the same time, many are still plugging away at digital transformation. Partnerships may be the best bet for both going forward — but a twist called 'community fintechs' could be a spoiler.

Read the full article HERE.

Fractured markets: the big threats to the financial system - FT Film

Interest rates are rising; easy money is over; the cracks are showing. UK pensions were the first big explosion. FT experts and financial industry insiders examine where the next big threats to the global financial system lie and explain why when the tide goes out, we can see who is swimming naked.