Category: Banks

Why Bank Stocks Tanked in 2020

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn Banks, Blockchain, FintechLeave a comment

If there were ever an indication that the digital age is taking over in finance, it is the state of bank stocks. This year has been an extraordinary one in many respects, and the effects of the pandemic have thrown the banking sector into a quandary as fintech companies have outperformed the traditional players in he banking sector.

BNN Bloomberg’s senior anchor, Jon Erlichman, came to this conclusion after studying stock performance reports for banks, fintechs and the two largest cryptocurrencies, ETH and BTC.

A graph created by CryptoPotato, shows a YTD gain of 217% for ETH, while Wells Fargo bank shows a -58% loss. This is a massive change over a decade: “The stocks of some of the world’s largest banks were on a roll since the previous financial crisis over a decade ago. Bank of America shares had increased approximately ten-fold since 2009 to their highs in February 2020 of about $35,” writes Jordan Lyanchev. He also notes that in the same period, “Citigroup stocks went from $15 to $80, JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM) from $20 to $140, and Wells Fargo (WFC) surged from $11 to above $50.”

What changed for banks in 2020?

The simplest answer is the Covid-19 pandemic. Even in March banks were seeing a significant slump with some losing 50% of their valuation in a matter of days. Some have regained a little of their former value, but they will still end this year in the red. And it is not just banks; Western Union and American Express have also suffered. Lyanchev notes that Warren Buffett, a major investor, sold all his bank stocks this year.

Visa and Mastercard both took a bit of a hit, but have managed to pull back into the green by small percentages. However, they must be looking at companies like PayPal and Square with a feeling of envy.

PayPal’s stocks (PYPL) started 2020 at $110 and have increased by 94% since then. It did see a collapse to $85 in March, but as we can see, it has completely turned that around. Square’s yearly gains have even seen triple-digit percentages, and it has seen a 178% growth since January 2020. Both of them are now connected with cryptocurrency: Square bought Bitcoin valued at $50 million this year, and PayPal is allowing its US-based customers to buy, sell, and store several digital assets.

The crypto markets

It is undeniable that the cryptocurrency markets also took a hit around March. Today BTC is at $13,000, but it dipped to $3,700 back then. Ethereum, now at $400 dropped to $100. Both have overcome the slump, with Bitcoin in particular being increasingly seen as a safe haven asset in the same way as gold.

Analysts are unsure exactly why Bitcoin has seen a YTD surge of 80%, and whether it can be attributed to more interest from institutional investors, the May halving or large companies investing in it. Ethereum has been riding the wave of the growing trend supporting decentralised finance, as its blockchain operates as the underlying technology behind most DeFi projects. Even though this utility has highlighted some of Etherieum’s weak points, such as high transaction fees and slow transaction rates, “none of that matters as ETH has been on a roll during most of the year, especially since the summer.” Now the second-largest cryptocurrency has become the best-performing asset, with an increase of over 200%.

What we can take away from this is that Covid-19 has driven dramatic changes that have made people become more focused on the digital world. They are looking more to online ventures and digitally transferred funds. What we may be witnessing now is the real beginning of a mass movement to an online world that will leave traditional banking behind.

The digital banking surge predates the pandemic

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn Banks, Digital Innovation, FintechLeave a comment

It may be supposed by some that the global pandemic was the kick-starter of the rise in the number of digital bank accounts. However, that isn’t quite true as Ron Shevlin usefully points out in Forbes. 

In 2019, half of all community banks and credit unions opened less than 5% of their new checking account applications in digital channels. But then these banks only account for 15% of the total current account applications last year.

More significantly, it is what the Americans call ‘megabanks’ (Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo) alongside the digital banks that “accounted for roughly 55% of all checking account applications in 2019, 63% in Q1 2020, and 69% in Q2 2020.”

However, one thing is clear; digital account openings are overtaking in-branch applications. For example, “Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the checking account applications taken during the height of the Coronavirus crisis in Q2 2020 for what consumers considered their primary account were submitted either online or on a mobile device,” Cornerstone Advisors report. That’s a 59% increase over the same period in 2019.

The turning point came earlier though; in the second half of 2019 to be precise. This is the moment when digital applications for primary accounts exceeded branch applications.

It would also appear from Cornerstone’s research that the 35% of Americans with more than one current/checking account, are more likely to turn to digital solutions when applying for a second or third account. Shevlin writes, “In Q2 2020, roughly three-quarters of the applications consumers submitted for their secondary checking was done through digital channels, up from 65% in the first quarter of the year.”

And there is more good news for digital platforms: “a larger percentage of consumers who opened an account in the past three years rated their experience on the mobile channel as “excellent” compared with those who used online or in-branch services.

Banks have for some time clung to the idea that consumers want the ‘human touch’, but Cornerstone’s research indicates that while this is somewhat true, “The rest of the experience isn’t as good as it is in a digital channel.” Furthermore, consumer ratings of the in-branch experience haven’t increased in recent years, and in some cases have fallen.

The megabanks have captured much of the millennial market, largely due to a better digital and mobile experience. This leaves the smaller banks at a disadvantage, although there are opportunities for them to become second account providers. They just need to provide a digital account opening process.

Are banking APIs the real revolution?

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn Banks, BlockchainLeave a comment

Application programming interfaces (APIs) have been around for 20 years, but, as Ron Shevlin points out, just one in five community banks in the USA had deployed APIs before 2020, and they aren’t even on the radar of at least 20% of the banks.

Contrast this with Europe, where 97% of UK banks are already using them, and even the lowest uptake country, the Netherlands, has 83% of its banks deploying APIs. The reason for this huge gap between the USA and Europe is the latter’s Open Banking initiative, however Shevlin says that American banks cannot simply use this as an excuse for their low adoption of the technology.

As a result of the lack of API deployment, US banks are missing out on a number of opportunities, including the reduction of time and costs in several business processes, particularly product application-related processes.

The best known API providers include Stripe, Plaid and Yodlee. These three have furthered the connections between financial institutions and fintech companies. However, Shevlin says there are three fintech startups that are “poised to have a significant impact on the banking industry: Pinwheel, Sila, and Codat.”

Pinwheel

Pinwheel, which has just announced a $7 million funding raise, offers an API for payroll data, “that handles everything from income and employee verification to easily switching and managing direct deposit.”

How would this revolutionise banking? According to a Techcrunch article, “For consumers, the main draw is automated direct deposit control, which will allow consumers to control where their paychecks go. For instance, if they want to split a direct deposit into multiple accounts, or regularly move part of their paycheck into a savings app like Digit or Acorns, Pinwheel can help them do that easily.”

Sila

According to Coindesk, Sila, “is an API platform that issues an ERC-20 stablecoin called SilaToken (SILA). Every transaction on the platform is done using the token, which is pegged 100:1 to the U.S. dollar. Sila plans to install card payments, international payments, business ID verification and begin issuing tokens within one business day. Its partner bank, Evolve Bank & Trust, plans to connect to the Clearing House system, a network started by big banks that provides access to instant payments.”

Techcrunch comments that Sila’s API would: “Supplant ACH as the payments choice for companies who need to move money. Sila’s API for identity verification, which empowers developers to identify users and use that info in the company’s banking API, allows users to debit their accounts and move funds from one account to another. On top of that infrastructure, Sila allows for the creation of smart contracts, which should allow for more rapid deployment of financial apps.”

Codat

Codat, which is based in London, has an API focused on small businesses, and is signing up 10,000 new customers per month. According to TechCrunch:

“Codat is building an API that connects with all the systems that hold all the relevant financial data. That type of information is usually spread across multiple systems, and small businesses often use different systems. On the other side, banks, insurance companies and more can speed up their internal processes and give you an educated answer for your next loan or insurance product.”

Codat is especially on point right now as small businesses are struggling and need funds. However, the current lending processes are time-consuming and confusing. Its API simplifies and streamlines the flow of data between small businesses and financial institutions, and could potentially disrupt the way SME loans are handled today.

Blockchain

On the other hand, perhaps APIs aren’t the ultimate answer for a banking revolution. Brian Platz, co-CEO of Fluree, says, “The answer isn’t to build a better API; rather, it is to turn the database inside out and let data escape from the walls that confine it. Blockchain is how data frees itself. It’s time to end the era of data APIs and begin to look into the blockchain.”

Why has Australia fallen in love with neobanking?

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn BanksLeave a comment

Neobanks, or digital banks, arrived in Australia in 2018, dues to a change in legislation, and since then there has been a flurry of activity. Some might even call it a tsunami of neobanks, and this has led to a high level of competition in the country’s banking sector, something that hasn’t occurred for decades.

The neobanks are app-based banks accessed mostly from a smartphone. They don’t have physical branches and they promise clients a ‘touch of the button’ 24/7 service, and most of them have much lower charges than the traditional banks.

Neobanks have been growing in popularity outside Australia for some time, with Europe being a leader, especially the UK. As Jack Derwin points out, the fact that they are doing so well in the UK, and a number of them are registered there, such as Starling, Revolut and Monzo, is a good sign for Australia.

The digital banks are a more recent addition to the Australian banking scene, because until legislation changed in 2017/18, it was extremely difficult to start a neobank. Whilst the previous legislation was intended to protect the consumer, it was perhaps too restrictive, and anti-competition.

In 2017, Scott Morrison, who then headed the Treasury, dramatically simplified the application process to enter the banking sector. As a result, within months neobanks were lining up to enter the market.

Still, entering the banking sector is never easy. Neobanks need a banking licence, a core banking system and a substantial fund of money: one neobank founder told Business Insider Australia that $100 million was the figure needed to start up.

It takes time to raise that kind of money, and to get a banking licence, which can take up to 12 months, as the newcomer must convince the financial regulator to trust the product.

So, what is the advantage to using a neobank? Unlike traditional banks, they are more cost efficient. They don’t have a network of offices and the fact they have lower overheads, means they can pass the cost saving onto the client. Also neobanks have access to the best tech and can therefore optimise their product. It only takes minutes to set up an account, compared with all the paperwork needed for a bank. So, the consumer appeal is there, combined with free accounts and lower charges.

As Derwin says, “From recognising higher than usual bills, notifying you of unused subscriptions, and even helping you switch to a cheaper energy provider, neobanks say they can do banking better.”

That might not be hard to achieve in Australia, where the traditional banks have admitted to extorting fees for non-existent services, to the point they were even charging dead people. They also admitted to lying to the regulators, holding forged documents, failed to verify customers’ expenses when approving loans, and sold insurance to people who couldn’t afford it. And as Derwin says, with four banks controlling 80% of Australia’s business, there was no incentive for them to do better.

All this adds up to a reason for Australians to love neobanking. They now have around five to choose from, including Volt and Xinja, and the UK’s Revolut is testing the market. This is definitely a geographical space to watch for anyone interested in neobanks.