I was upset to be unable to join the recent debate in New York on digital banking.  It ended up that I was conflicted and had to defer to a far mightier second man, Ron Shevlin. 

Ron obviously was a stand-out star of the discussion in that not only did he win the debate with Michal Panowicz as his tag team partner, but he also got a lot of coverage of his rap:

Don't be a fool,
Fintech don't rule.
No doubt they're cool.
But they're just a bank's tool.

Pensions are back in the headlines and flavour of the month online. In March 2015, Google Trends in the UK saw a spike in the number of searches for ‘pensions’ and related terms, as the deadline for reform approached.

So what do customers want to know about their pensions? And can pension providers offer accurate rather than an estimated view of pension performance?

New online calculators launched by firms such as Standard Life, Hargreaves Lansdown and Fidelity indicate that providers think customers want to know two key facts:

Tonight’s addition of a single second to system clocks will no doubt underwhelm the world, much as Y2K did – systems will probably not fail (although the last time a leap second was added – in 2012 – there were in fact system outages).  But this fascinating phenomenon, whereby “Coordinated Universal Time” (UTC) is tweaked so that it more closely matches mean solar time (so-called “UT1”) – based on the earth’s rotation – potentially disrupts the rational determinism of global computer systems.

Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, announced today the introduction of the Elektron API  family, a set of open-source Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that simplify access to Thomson Reuters data feeds and services, and help developers to innovate by creating their own customised applications. The Elektron API family consists of a broad set of interfaces ranging from low latency/high performance to simple content aware and web APIs.

 BBVA Group has entered a multi-year agreement with Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR) for a post-tra

More than three-quarters of financial advisors are using ETFs in their investment strategies. This is the highest number in history, according to Advisor Intelligence - the industry’s most comprehensive intelligence tool for asset managers to understand the investment approaches of financial advisors.

Advisor Intelligence reveals industry trends on advisor use of mutual funds and ETFs. Advisor use of fund products is changing. According to Broadridge and Cogent Reports data:

 Fidessa group plc (LSE: FDSA) today announced the launch of its new low-latency DMA platform that provides brokers with high-performance, scalable and consistent access to global equity and derivatives markets. Built on Fidessa’s latest next-generation technology and delivered as a managed service, the platform helps firms reduce cost and improve efficiency by outsourcing the commoditized aspects of their market access infrastructure.

Tradeweb Markets, the leading global marketplace for electronic fixed income, derivatives and ETF trading, announced its actionable axes have significantly improved institutional investors' access to high quality liquidity for European government and corporate bonds. Tradeweb axes provide valuable pre-trade information in today's challenging environment of constrained dealer balance sheets and reduced market liquidity.

As part of its continued commitment to the Mexico market, The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, and state-owned Banco del Ahorro Nacional y Servicios Financieros, Sociedad Nacional de Crédito, Institución de Banca de Desarrollo (BANSEFI), today announced an agreement to expand access to inbound money transfer services under Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta brands throughout the country.