SET Training - Banking and Fintech

By Stanley Epstein -  Introduction: The Promise of Stability The financial world is buzzing with talk of stablecoins. It’s no longer a niche topic; major players like Citi, Visa, Stripe, and a growing number of large US banks are actively building platforms and exploring issuing their own. This isn't just experimental—the scale of the ambition is immense. Citi's CEO, Jane Fraser, recently forecasted that stablecoin issuance could surge to an astonishing $3.7 trillion by the end of the decade. At its core, the promise of a stablecoin is simple: to create a cryptocurrency with a stable price by pegging it to a real-world asset, most commonly the US dollar. This is meant to offer the benefits of digital currency—speed, accessibility, and transparency—without the wild price swings associated with assets like bitcoin. But beneath this straightforward promise lies a far more complex and surprising reality with profound consequences for the global financial system. The rapid growth of...

- By Stanley Epstein -  In 2024, the global banking sector achieved something unprecedented: it generated $1.2 trillion in profits, the highest total ever recorded for any industry. Return on Equity (ROE) hit a 20-year high. By all conventional measures, it was a banner year. Yet, beneath the surface of these record-breaking figures, capital markets are sending a clear message of deep scepticism. This scepticism is starkly visible in a massive valuation gap. Today, the banking sector is valued nearly 70 percent lower than the average of all other industries. Investors believe the recent profit surge was driven by temporary tailwinds and is fundamentally unsustainable. They see an industry struggling to find a new business model for the leaner years ahead. This profound disconnect between record performance and market pessimism signals that massive, underlying shifts are underway. A recent McKinsey report, the "Global Banking Annual Review 2025," digs into this paradox and unc...

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are under fire in a new Gatestone Institute article, warning that they threaten personal and economic freedom. Economist Richard A. Werner calls CBDCs a 'digital prison', enabling totalitarian control over spending. With the EU pushing a Euro CBDC and concerns raised by the Bank for International Settlements’ Agustin Carstens about 'absolute control,' fears of abuse grow, pointing to Canada’s trucker account freezes as a chilling example. In the U.S., efforts by President Trump and the House aim to ban CBDCs, as the article argues they’re a globalist step toward unprecedented power and suppression of dissent."

- Stanley Epstein -   Introduction The common narrative around digital payments is one of solved problems and inevitable progress. We hear about a future that is instant, seamless, and entirely digital, and it’s easy to assume the financial industry is well on its way to delivering it. But a recent deep-dive into the state of the global payments ecosystem reveals a far more complex and surprising reality. These insights come from the "Payments 2030: What’s Shaping the Future?" report, based on a June 2025 survey of 162 senior financial executives conducted by Finextra Research in partnership with ACI Worldwide. The report uncovers the high-stakes conflict at the heart of the industry: the immense external pressure of customer demand crashing against the powerful internal inertia of legacy systems and reactive culture. This post distils the five most impactful takeaways from the report. They are not just interesting facts; they are crucial pieces of evidence that paint a pictu...

Banks are deploying digital products and services at ever faster rates. Implementing any new technology can be a challenge if frontline staff isn't properly trained. The deployment of AI in particular can expose glaring gaps in skills and experience. If banks are going to succeed as digital tools proliferate, they need to identify and address employees' needs quickly and effectively. Check it out HERE .

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 .