Author Archive
The real reason for Wesabe failure, part trois
Ron did up a great post here reflecting on the reason for Wesabe’s failure and the arrogance of someone at Mint as to why they ‘won’ (quotes mine). First off this from Techcrunch in Sept 2009. V...
The value of patience | Haldane BofE
This is a remarkable paper from Andrew Haldane at the Bank of England. There are lessons and direction here for everyone and it is not as dry as one might expect. It is the more remarkable because...
The fragility of the banking system – the final 2 days in the life of Wachovia in 2008
There is a statement today … Statement of John Corston, Acting Deputy Director, Complex Financial Institution Branch, Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, Federal Deposit Insurance Corpo...
The size of the Canadian mortgage market approaches $1 trillion
The state of Canadian finances is still the envy of the world, yet there continue to be areas of concern that pop up. This statistic caught my eye. The trillion dollar figure works out to ...
“Islamic finance is a medicine for economy” | Linar Yakupov in Tatarstan
I continue to be fascinated by product design in western banks and the sheer lack of innovation despite a clear permanently different business and consumer environment. By innovation I don’...
Mortgage regulation in US has worked judging by dramatic impact on brokers
Here is one set of regulation that seems to have worked. The article recounts one broker who is down from 85 on staff to 3. What is intriguing is that the bankrate article seems to suggest this is a ...
Ontario Canada is becoming the new California, and not in a good way
Canada continues to be held in high regard throughout the ongoing crisis but the devil lies in the details. Ontario which represents about 40% of Canadian GDP is beginning to look like Nero … ...
UK Bank mortgage volumes down
An interesting stat that reflects a new normal when people are consolidating and de-levering. However the percentage decrease of 18.9% since July 2009 is not so dramatic as the headline in the T...
Smart local and interactive advertising from ING
A very smart interactive ad from ING Direct Canada that ran in Toronto metro hall. Those are coins which are removed to bring out the full ad. I would speculate the coins add up to $185.00 which i...
