FS Focus: December 2019
The December issue of FS Focus will be the last-ever print issue, with the magazine being replaced by online-only Banking Focus, Insurance Focus and Investment Management Focus next year.
In this issue we examine exactly what is happening in the booming world of the fintech unicorns. Are the ever-higher valuations justified? Or are they just another symptom of a wider technology bubble? If it is just a bubble, are we close to reaching bursting point?
We also hear the views of Anne Boden at Starling Bank and examine what the results of the latest EY Fintech Census say about the market. Elsewhere there are features on ethics and the use of data, measuring culture and a look back at the last 12 years of FS Focus
Read our cover story and articles below. The full issue is available for download.
Cover story: FINTECH - Who wants to be a billionaire?
Financial services is being shaken up by a wave of technology-driven disrupters. Peter Wilson follows the ups and downs of the fintech boom
Playing the imitation game with challenger banks
While imitation is said to be the greatest form of flattery, Starling Bank’s Anne Boden explains how the challenger bank is leading the way with innovation
Working towards a greener society
Long-standing CEO of Ecology Building Society, Paul Ellis, talks about a range of green issues, from the impact of Extinction Rebellion and fracking in Argentina to a newly-set-up green finance task force
Tiptoeing through cryptocurrency
Following FCA guidance, firms must tread carefully when dealing in crypto-assets, says Suchitra Nair
Measuring culture: can it be done?
Researchers at the London School of Economics have developed a method that could put corporate culture under the same empirical scrutiny as profit and loss
The future of digital currency
Rob Haynes takes a look at what is in the stars for emerging cryptocurrencies such as Libra, and considers the finance industry
Is Brexit coming or is Brexit going?
Are we in or are we out? Uncertainty is making Brexit feel like a long and messy divorce, writes David Smith, economics editor of The Sunday Times
Counting on ethics when it comes to data management
Paula Smith examines how a strong ethical approach can help financial services firms cope with the changing world of data management
How to implement and embed SMCR
Now SMCR is live, we examine how businesses can embed the scheme and make sure it’s the new business as usual
Knowing the history of interbank offered rates
Following the publication of the PRA & FCA’s Feedback on the Dear CEO letter on LIBOR transition, Steve Farrell looks at what conduct risks financial services firms face as they transition away from Interbank Offered Rates and those risks can be managed effectively
