Large banks dug their own graves with mergers and takeovers, Dutch professor business-spirituality and jesuit Paul de Blot said today in Dutch newspaper het Financieele Dagblad.

During mergers and takeovers vital business components are often sacrificed, causing the enterprise to lose part of its soul, the professor claims. Executives should realize that the true capital of an enterprise are the people. Undermine their strength, and banks are doomed. “I liken it to losing an arm or a leg. Someone never really recovers from such a thing.”

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This month, US based Citizens bank has opened its first branch office in a donut shop. The full service branch office is marketed as a “one-stop destination for all of their banking, coffee, and bakery needs.”

The donut shop, part of the Dunkin’ Donuts chain, is geared towards professionals grabbing a bite on the go. The same group of people Citizens bank is looking to cater. Adding the convenience of a branch office makes sense. But so would adding a dry cleaners, a laptop service shop or a grocery store.

One advantage: no-one will attempt to rob this bank.

Using humor in advertising is not an obvious thing to do for banks. Most banks prefer a serious approach, perhaps for fear of losing their image of credibility and reliability.

We wonder whether this fear is justified. We also regret the lack of differentiation. With few banks daring to stick out their heads, most of the ads end up looking the same.

Lighthearted
Wouldn’t it be possible for banks to be humorous and lighthearted while still being taken seriously? Take a look at the following ad from FirstBank.

“Find the sousaphoe to win free checking”

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How do you give your customers the feeling that they’re getting honest and unbiased advice? According to the Dutch Internet bank Alex the answer is to let other customers provide the advice.

The company delegates its marketing: customers record answers to common questions using their webcam, and the resulting videos are uploaded to the Alex website.

Customers are also given the possibility to chat with each other and exchange tips.

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It is true that the credit crunch evaporated a lot of money, and cost a lot of jobs. But it’s not all bad: the crisis has proven to be a valuable breeding ground for innovation and entrepreneurship.

“In a downturn there is more creativity and innovation, more than you get during boom periods,” says Carol Bagnald, regional director at the UK-based HSBC bank.

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The Whuffie Bank is launching the Whuffie, a new currency that rewards people for their positive contributions on the internet. Consider it an alternative currency, like the ones we discussed in our previous article.

Your Whuffie balance is calculated by tracking your online activity on websites like Twitter and Facebook and analyzing your contacts and feedback.

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From now on, people without a credit card or bank account, too, can enjoy the benefits of online shopping.

The online payments company eBillme recently launched a new service in the United States that allows customers to order goods over the Internet. The service, called Walk-In, allows them to print the invoice, bring it to one of the 75.000 agents and pay with hard cash.

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Much like medical doctors and notaries, Dutch bankers will soon be made to take an oath, promising to uphold a certain moral and ethical standard. Amongst others, they must act with integrity and in the best interest of their client. Additionally, executives will have to take a yearly exam that will test their knowledge of all their latest financial services and products.

The oath is part of a larger set of measures called the Banker’s Code. The Netherlands Bankers’ Association (NVB) together with its members drew up the Code and presented it earlier this week.

The Code will take effect on January 1st, 2010, and applies to all Dutch banks, both to their operations in the Netherlands and in the rest of Europe. It is the first time the banking sector takes such an initiative, and is currently unique in the world.

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With the mortgage securities market in shambles, bankers are frantically searching for new things to deal in. And it looks like they may have found a new money cow: life settlements.

When a person with a life insurance policy is expected to die in the foreseeable future, for instance because they are old or sick, they can sell their policy. Firms package thousands of these policies together, and resell those bundles to investors.

Selling life insurance policies is not new. When a person is unable to pay their monthly premium, or they no longer have kids or a spouse that depends on the proceeds, they can cancel the insurance. The insurance company then offers a cash surrender value, which is often only a fraction of the original sum. Alternatively, they can sell the life insurance policy to another party. The other party pays, for instance, 200.000 euros for a half-million life insurance policy, and pays the remainder of the monthly premiums. When the insuree dies as swiftly as expected, they can make a good buck.

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In these days of economic turmoil, banks are hesitant to offer credit to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) – even healthy businesses are denied. This is a problem and is hurting the economy, says the Dutch socialist party the SP.

What to do? Establish a National Investment Bank (NIB) that offers enterprises credit which is backed up by government guarantees.

Sharon Gesthuizen, member of the Dutch House of Representatives, posted a bill last saturday suggesting such a bank. According to her, the economy won’t be able to recover if the credit flow to small and medium enterprises isn’t restored.

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