Over the next decade, a radical shift will take place in the role and function of banking.  It’s already started and it’s all about BIG DATA.  But it’s more than that.  It’s to do with the value shift in society from seeing money to seeing virtual money; from seeing technology to seeing social technology; and from seeing government to seeing self-governance.  These shifts have been seeded in smartphones, social networks and the global linkage of every person on the planet to wireless media, and this shift will accelerate over the next decade.  What this means for banks is that they will become hybrid keepers of money and data, and anything else their customers believe to be of value.  They might even be keepers of cloud secure Facebook photo albums … why not?  To see the impact of the key political, economic, social and technological forces of the next decade, Chris Skinner will bring together these themes and outline the vision for the bank of 2021.

Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog the Finanser. Here he regularly discusses key issues and opportunities in banking and financial services, summarising research, white papers and other analysis that is topical for the day.  The blog content is now regularly edited into book form, with the first five books published by Searching Finance in a new series called “The Complete Banker” in winter 2010. Order this series here.

When he’s not travelling and delivering keynote speeches, Chris chairs the Financial Services Club, which he founded in 2004.  The Financial Services Club is a network for financial professionals, and focuses on the future of financial services through the delivery of high quality and in-depth research, analysis, commentary and debate. The Club has regular meetings in London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Vienna, providing a critically independent platform for practitioners, regulators and industry leaders to meet, network and discuss the future of our industry.

Chris is Chief Executive of Balatro Ltd, and a co-founder of the website Shaping Tomorrow.  He also appears regularly in various media including the BBC, Bloomberg and Sky News.