William Webster
Operational risk & common sense
People, systems and external events all generate operational risk. In the words of one Rogue trader “It’s sure to go up, trust me.”...
top of page
Barbican Consulting Limited
William Webster
Apr 21, 20161 min read
Fact or fiction?
Forward looking projections ask us to look into the future. Their uses are varied and range from planning and risk to investment and...
30
William Webster
Mar 22, 20161 min read
Negative rates
It takes a bit of thought. When you lend money you take a haircut. That’s what negative rates mean. It’s supposed to stop banks...
20
William Webster
Feb 20, 20161 min read
How much capital?
Last week the Bank of England defended its position on bank capital after it had been urged to rethink by Sir John Vickers. It’s quite...
30
William Webster
Jan 23, 20161 min read
The Govenor's speech
According to the FT the government has borrowed £74.2bn for the financial year to date. With the population of the UK circa 64 million...
40
William Webster
Dec 8, 20151 min read
Who is eating your pie?
How much does it cost you to save? Take someone who saves £5,000 per annum for 30 years in a tax free environment like a pension or ISA....
30
William Webster
Oct 22, 20151 min read
Flat pack banking
If you’ve bought flat pack furniture you will recognise its advantages. But it has its downsides too. It’s heavy and has instructions....
30
William Webster
Sep 18, 20151 min read
People's QE
Talking with a group this week I was reminded about the paradox between monetary policy and regulation. Cutting the repo rate to almost...
60
William Webster
Aug 27, 20152 min read
Valuations
Asset valuation is of major importance to banks. It is required for a host of reasons including statutory reporting, credit exposures,...
10
William Webster
Jul 21, 20151 min read
Stress testing – a flawed approach
In banking stress testing is in vogue. But how effective is it? For engineers the bar on safety is high after all life itself is at...
50
William Webster
Jun 28, 20151 min read
Banks should be mongrels
Crossbred dogs may not win shows but they are supposed to be more robust than thoroughbreds. It means that a pooch that is a mixture...
80
William Webster
May 6, 20151 min read
Trading Annuities
In the recent shake up of pensions it seems likely that retirees will be able to sell their existing annuities. This indeed offers...
80
William Webster
Apr 2, 20151 min read
Shopping Around
Retail experts tell me that German shoppers are somewhat different from their British counterparts. Apparently Germans like to buy...
20
William Webster
Mar 1, 20151 min read
The Wealth Effect
Shortly before his retirement Mervin King the last Governor of the Bank of England explained that as a result of central bank policy...
30
William Webster
Feb 11, 20152 min read
Mind the gap
Years ago bank traders treated FX markets with caution (particularly if they weren’t experienced currency dealers) indeed other areas of...
20
William Webster
Jan 5, 20152 min read
The Technology Issue
When we deal with money how reliant are we on the digital world? Save, borrow or pay when you deal with banks you will almost always be...
20
William Webster
Dec 5, 20142 min read
SME Banking
When it comes to banking SMEs don’t have a lot of choice. If you want the full service range there are only a handful of banks to turn to....
30
William Webster
Nov 14, 20141 min read
A fine tax
Do massive fines perpetuate the problem? Terry Smith recently explained to the FT why he didn’t invest in banks. High leverage and...
30
William Webster
Oct 8, 20141 min read
Approximately right or exactly wrong?
At the shop I was charged £44.75 for three weeks of newspapers. The paper costs £10 per week. Delivery was an additional £3.15 per week....
10
William Webster
Sep 2, 20142 min read
Does consumption matter?
For the last six years central banks have tried to get us to spend more. One way to do this is to lower interest rates. It makes saving...
20
bottom of page