JPMorgan Chase CEO Says Fintech is an 'Enormous Competitive' Threat To Banks (cnbc.com) 35
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO, listed fintech as one of the "enormous competitive threats" to banks in his annual shareholder letter released this week. From a report: "Banks ... are facing extensive competition from Silicon Valley, both in the form of fintechs and Big Tech companies," like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Walmart, Dimon wrote, and "that is here to stay." Fintech companies, in particular, "are making great strides in building both digital and physical banking products and services," Dimon said. "From loans to payment systems to investing, they have done a great job in developing easy-to-use, intuitive, fast and smart products." This, in part, is why "banks are playing an increasingly smaller role in the financial system," he said.
Fintechs, like Stripe, Robinhood and PayPal, have seen a lot of growth and success in recent years, which may present challenges to traditional banks. While traditional banks have "significant strengths," like "brand, economies of scale, profitability and deep roots with their customers," Dimon also acknowledged their weaknesses. Things like "inflexible 'legacy systems'" along with "extensive regulations," can hinder innovation within banks, though they can arguably also make banks a "safer" option for consumers, too.
Fintechs, like Stripe, Robinhood and PayPal, have seen a lot of growth and success in recent years, which may present challenges to traditional banks. While traditional banks have "significant strengths," like "brand, economies of scale, profitability and deep roots with their customers," Dimon also acknowledged their weaknesses. Things like "inflexible 'legacy systems'" along with "extensive regulations," can hinder innovation within banks, though they can arguably also make banks a "safer" option for consumers, too.
You know what is enormous competitve threat? (Score:5, Insightful)
Credit Unions.
I had a bunch of banks I used, most of them shut down, or were absorbed by bigger, crappier banks.
Since I started using a credit union, I would never go back to using a regular bank.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:You know what is enormous competitve threat? (Score:4, Informative)
My father founded a credit union back in the 50s - 60s or so.
The three major types of depository institutions - Banks (for-profit corporatins), Savings & Loans (ditto but different rules), and Credit Unions (depositor-owned co-operatives, usually started by the employees of some large non-banking company for their own use and later expanded, so the customers get the owner's profit in the form of better interest rates, account costs, and services) - have separate failed-institution insurance systems. The one for CUs has substantially lower costs than the others - because CU have a much better track record. As of the last time I checked - some decades ago but after the big S&L debacle, when the banks and S&Ls were trying to force the CUs into their systems to unload some of their costs - there had been ONE failure of a CU. (The CU in question was just starting up and amounted to a strongbox in an officer's desk.)
Re: (Score:3)
As of the last time I checked - some decades ago ... - there had been ONE failure of a CU.
Or so I was told at the time, but which might be bogus. CUs, like S&Ls, do fractional-reserve banking, loaning their depositors' money out to other members for mortgages, business loans, etc. A local economic crisis can cause enough loans to fail that the CU can take a dive.
Nevertheless, without owners syphoning off some of the funds as profits, they do a LOT better than banks or S&Ls. In 2920, for instance,
Re: (Score:2)
In 2920, for instance...
Your time machine's malfunctioning. BTW, can you give me any stock tips? Pretty please??
Re: (Score:2)
How I wish getting my laptop to access the internet years in the future WAS as easy as making a one-key-sideways typo and missing it until after hitting submit. B-)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Interesting opening, and on its way to insightful, but obviously not accurate. Credit unions have been around for many decades and the commercial banks have not gone out of business or even declined because of the "competition".
Having said that, I am still a member of a credit union, and I acknowledge that they certainly seem to care about my business more than most banks. But the interest rate paid on deposits is still a joke.
The true threat of Fintech is that the new scams might explode some of the banks'
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Similar experience for me. I had hopped to banks with competitive interest rates, did try a credit union but the ATM situation was painful. I rarely use an ATM nowadays so maybe time for another look.
Jamie's "significant strengths," like "brand, economies of scale, profitability and deep roots with their customers," are laughable to me. Maybe the 'deep roots' are with customers who are those high rollers with Chase account in the Cayman Islands
Re: (Score:1)
Indeed (Score:2)
"building both digital and physical banking products "
And they don't need marble palaces to do it.
Re: (Score:3)
The marble palaces are peanuts compared to capital flows. Look somewhere else.
Really doing his research (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Fintech? (Score:2)
Re:Fintech? (Score:5, Funny)
Is it too much to expect either the summary or the actual article to define fintech?
Technicians from Finland -- what's so hard about that? ...
To be honest, I never imagined they would play such a big part in US banking
Re: (Score:2)
Is it too much to expect either the summary or the actual article to define fintech?
Fintech is a common term that does not have an easy one-line definition. It would take a paragraph or more to clearly explain what it means. Saying that it means "financial technology" is misleading because that could include ATMs and human tellers with computer terminals, which is not at all what "fintech" is about. The definition is just a mouse click away.
Yes, But... (Score:3)
And that hasn't changed. See this piece [motherjones.com] in Mother Jones, describing how they promised big action on climate, but then still want to finance the fossil fuel industry.
And for all his talk about fintech and the need to be agile... I have friends - well, former colleagues I've kept in touch with over the years - who work there now. One of them describes the insane complexity of the technology infrastructure. Or the fact that tech decisions get made not by what makes sound technical sense, but what would look good on the résumé of the lead technologists.
I don't think JPMorgan are necessarily better or worse than any of their peers. Just that when your annual technology budget runs to $11 Billion Dollars [jpmorganchase.com] you tend to get a great deal of politics being played.
Re: Yes, But... (Score:2)
Or the fact that tech decisions get made not by what makes sound technical sense, but what would look good on the résumé of the lead technologists.
Do we work for the same company?
Hmm... (Score:3)
Dimon also acknowledged their weaknesses. Things like "inflexible 'legacy systems'" along with "extensive regulations," can hinder innovation within banks, though they can arguably also make banks a "safer" option for consumers, too.
Hmm... Do I want something more regulated to help keep my money safe or un/less regulated with more "innovation" that helps them make more money at (potentially) my expense. I wonder who's best interests JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon has in mind? Hmm, what to do, what... to...do...
Re: (Score:2)
Hmm... Do I want something more regulated to help keep my money safe
Beyond the basics, there isn't much reason to believe that regulation keeps your money safer. SOX's main effect was to shift equity trading to opaque offshore "dark pools" and accelerate the transfer of manufacturing to Mexico and China.
I wonder who's best interests JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon has in mind?
The shareholders. If you have a 401k or IRA, that means you. We all benefit from a more efficient financial system.
The Faces of Evil (Score:1)
"...Big Tech companies," like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Walmart,"
Amazon? Greedy Overlord.
Apple? iOverlord.
Facebook? Lizard Overlord.
Google? Don't Not Be Evil Overlord.
Walmart? Drunk Elmer Fudd Overlord.
Wall St admits that Wall St hates competition (Score:2)
At some point (Score:4, Interesting)
The big banks are going to demand that everyone who wants to play in the realms of finance will be required to adhere to the same rules.
Read that, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Stripe, et al will be subjected to the same financial regulations that normal banks are. When that happens, those who are left standing will be the true competitors that the banks need to worry about.
Glass-Steagall (Score:2)
New parasites (Score:2)
are commonly a threat to existing parasites that live off of the same hosts. Why is this a surprise to anyone?