Tag: Alt Lending

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Alt Lending week ended 12th November 2021

The great challenger bank experiment has failed Good Saturday morning reading from Ben Marlow but definitely not for the faint hearted. He takes the view that banking is really all about scale and as evidence presents the proposed takeover of Metro Bank by Carlyle as a step in the road to, perhaps, create a scaleable…
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12 November 2021 0

Alt Lending Week ended 5th November 2021

Co-op bank snubbed in TSB takeover approach This story was covered in the main press outlets and it particularly relevant to the challenger banks in the space. Over the past few years both Co-op Bank and TSB have had their crosses to bear but now Co-op has returned to profitability and has a relatively strong…
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5 November 2021 0

Alt Lending week ended 22nd October

Klarna founder Sebastian Siemiatowski gives us his view on the world Interesting piece of philosophy in nothing else. Klarna the worldwide phenomenon of the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) product puts down his success to the “dirty tricks” played by banks. He also acknowledges that he wants Klarna to become a de facto part of…
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22 October 2021 0

Alt Lending Week ending 15th October 2021

Consumers need to know about new financial products! While the concept of BNPL (Buy now pay later loans) is as old as the hills the app based finance providers are not. The commentary in the cnbc piece is interesting as it exposes the fact that regulation takes some time to catch up with product development…
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15 October 2021 0

Alt Lending week ended 8th October 2021

Credit Suisse raided by Swiss police over Greensill funds. It comes as no surprise at all that the long arm of the Swiss Police is now feeling the collar of Credit Suisse over the Greensill affair. The bank, of course, is somewhat reticent in accepting any responsibility for the undoubted debacle but as it had…
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8 October 2021 0

Alt lending week ending 1st October 2021

China bans all cryptocurrency transactions This story caught my eye as it touches on the vexed issue of what is real and what isn’t. Frankly I have never understood the attraction of any crypto currency for the very simple reason that nobody can tell me how much it is worth? As an old fashioned banker…
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1 October 2021 0

American JP Morgan cat lands among the UK digital bank pigeons and Big Five high street bank cats

Our London banker techno entrepreneur, Howard Tolman, is on holiday today so I am covering for him with a story he suggested. Our 2017 post looked at the chances of  Challenger Banks breaking  the massive bank concentration in the UK. The UK has one of the most concentrated/ consolidated banking markets in the world with the top 5…
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24 September 2021 0

Alt Lending Week ended 17 September 2021

Johnson’s tax hikes makes raising rates difficult. A warning from the Bank of England that Johnson’s manifesto busting hikes in interest rates is significant enough to effect monetary policy. Well you can’t say he hasn’t been warned but he doesn’t seem interested in taking advice. Seriously though what are personal credit markets supposed to do…
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17 September 2021 0

Alt Lending week ending September 10th 2021

Overseas companies find British red tape a hindrance to doing business. I am not a great fan of the FCA and think they should perhaps take a leaf out of the medical professions book when nudging UK banks in one direction or another. “First do no harm” comes to mind. I have known for some…
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10 September 2021 0

Alt Lending week ended 3rd September 2021

Buy now pay later. (BNPL) Klarna leads the way, but to where? The world of buy now pay later is expanding at a rapid rate and Klarna is at the forefront with all of the necessary attributes of a Fintech start up. Rapid client expansion, a stellar market valuation and heavy and increasing losses. Nevertheless…
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3 September 2021 0