Reduce the influence shareholders have on banks by 50% and instead appoint a council that keeps watch over the public interest.

This way, not only individual interests but also the greater common good is taken into consideration when a bank sets out a course for the future, say Prof. Michiel Scheltema and Arjan Scheltema.

Michiel Scheltema is former chairman of the Dutch ‘Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid’ (Scientific Council for Government Policy) and together with his son Arjan Scheltema he wrote an advisory report for the ‘Vereniging voor Effectenrecht’ (Association for Securities Law) in which they plead the above measures.

Read the rest of this entry »

Governments should stop giving financial support to suffering banks. Let the banks topple over and let corporations find the money they need for investments elsewhere, for instance by issuing bonds. Banks can then focus on providing basic financial services, such as transaction services.

These are the views of Aaron Brown, US based fund manager and financial risk expert, according to a recent article in Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad.

Read the rest of this entry »

The US Bank has recently tapped into the consumer’s desire to decrease healthcare costs and increase control.

They did this by creating the Health Savings Account (HSA), which is paired with a High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP).

Read the rest of this entry »

Since a couple of decades, the paper money in your pocket is no longer backed by gold bullion in the national reserve’s safes. It is instead backed by the government’s assurance that the printed paper is accepted currency for taxes.

The value of money is established by governments, or to be more precise: by central banks. This allows central banks to control the rate of inflation and thus maintain economic stability. A growing group of people however are advocating a return to the gold standard, where every Euro and Dollar represents an equal value in gold.

Read the rest of this entry »

Banks and financial service providers should do their best to address ethnic groups that speak non-native languages.

This is extra urgent if they’re still unfamiliar with the financial services that are offered.

To do this, not only should these groups be addressed in their own language, but also through the specific information channels they use. The question is of course whether the potential revenue increase outweighs the effort made in specialized ad campaigns.

Read the rest of this entry »

Traditionally, banks have presented themselves as solid and unyielding organizations. Even the traditional architecture of banks reflected this: solid buildings with stone pillars and heavy doors. This image of solidity provided an air of reliability, the idea that your money was safe.

Of course this image has been severely battered over the past months, and banks all over the world have to find a new way to relate to their clients. Still, many banks have trouble letting go of their old ways, and continue to position themselves as fixed institutions rather than flexible financial service providers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Illegal skimming, copying magnetic stripe cards to produce duplicates and pillage the associated bank accounts, is a big expense for banks. That is why the implementation of the secure EMV-chip – a replacement for current magnetic stripe cards – should be standardized across Europe as quickly as possible. Luckily, we’re well under way.

Before we delve further into the advantages of the EMV-chip, first some background information.

In March 2006, European banks agreed to phase-in the EMV payment standard. Currently, European countries are currently in full swing implementing this standard in a project named Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).

Read the rest of this entry »

The trend is to go simple & easy and so mobile payments using cellphones is on the rise. Our question to you: is this desirable?

In fact, this form of banking has been possible for a while now. An example: since 1998 the African company Celtel allows people to transfer phone credit to another phone using text messages. This has proven a very popular service.

Read the rest of this entry »

Column Evert Visser

People tend to hesitate before taking the leap to buy new products or use innovative services. Which is a pity since it causes innovative solutions to take a long time to fully bloom.

The same goes for the world of banking. Communicating with consumers and properly informing them is key.

Read the rest of this entry »

American credit card companies that can prove they won’t charge excessive interest rates have the future.

At least, if it’s up to president Barack Obama. He wants to target credit card companies that charge excessive rates without properly informing their clients. We really need to change the way business is done, Obama’s advisor Larry Summers stressed during a recent appearance on NBC.

Read the rest of this entry »