There were a ton of hot takes on the banking crisis over the last few days. I didn’t feel like contributing to the cacaphony on Twitter because I was busy working with USV portfolio companies and also in Mexico City with Susan celebrating her birthday. Before addressing some of the takes, let me succinctly state what happened. SVB had taken a large percentage of their assets and invested them in low-interest-rate long-duration bonds. As interest rates rose, the value of those bonds fell. Alre...

There were a ton of hot takes on the banking crisis over the last few days. I didn’t feel like contributing to the cacaphony on Twitter because I was busy working with USV portfolio companies and also in Mexico City with Susan celebrating her birthday. Before addressing some of the takes, let me succinctly state what happened. SVB had taken a large percentage of their assets and invested them in low-interest-rate long-duration bonds. As interest rates rose, the value of those bonds fell. Alre...

I got quite a few comments on Friday’s post about starting a disruptive bank that questioned how such a bank could make money without lending, especially given that many bank accounts advertise that they are “free." The answer has to do with the fact that there is no such thing as a "free” account, there are just accounts with hidden fees, which come in three guises: first, being grossly overcharged for certain activities (like automatically moving some money between accounts to cover a payme...

I got quite a few comments on Friday’s post about starting a disruptive bank that questioned how such a bank could make money without lending, especially given that many bank accounts advertise that they are “free." The answer has to do with the fact that there is no such thing as a "free” account, there are just accounts with hidden fees, which come in three guises: first, being grossly overcharged for certain activities (like automatically moving some money between accounts to cover a payme...

The WSJ recently ran a story titled “It’s a Great Time to Start a Bank” which talked about a couple of recent local banking startups. It’s definitely true that when the existing players are on their backs it’s a good time for innovators. But it was disappointing to see the WSJ article focus about bank startups that look pretty much exactly like the banks we have had for the last hundreds of years: you take deposits from some people and make loans to others. What it is really a good time for i...

The WSJ recently ran a story titled “It’s a Great Time to Start a Bank” which talked about a couple of recent local banking startups. It’s definitely true that when the existing players are on their backs it’s a good time for innovators. But it was disappointing to see the WSJ article focus about bank startups that look pretty much exactly like the banks we have had for the last hundreds of years: you take deposits from some people and make loans to others. What it is really a good time for i...

I was excited about Obama from before the primaries got started. Now his administration is getting off to a fairly rough start and it will be a true test of the man to see how he deals with it. It seems pretty unfair to me that some folks are already loudly proclaiming their disappointment. Given what’s going on in the economy (and the world), it seems unrealistic to me to expect everything to go smoothly. So I for one am willing to wait a bit to see what kind of course corrections take place...

I was excited about Obama from before the primaries got started. Now his administration is getting off to a fairly rough start and it will be a true test of the man to see how he deals with it. It seems pretty unfair to me that some folks are already loudly proclaiming their disappointment. Given what’s going on in the economy (and the world), it seems unrealistic to me to expect everything to go smoothly. So I for one am willing to wait a bit to see what kind of course corrections take place...

This morning I am talking to a group of consumer banking folks who have come together to talk about all things digital. The primary focus for them during the day will be on such things as “omni channel” marketing (which sounds a bit ominous) but my role will be to draw a broader picture of the future. I asked yesterday on Twitter what I should talk about and got lots of terrific replies – thanks! Here is how I am planning to frame up my talk. Banking today still largely seems to be in the “re...

This morning I am talking to a group of consumer banking folks who have come together to talk about all things digital. The primary focus for them during the day will be on such things as “omni channel” marketing (which sounds a bit ominous) but my role will be to draw a broader picture of the future. I asked yesterday on Twitter what I should talk about and got lots of terrific replies – thanks! Here is how I am planning to frame up my talk. Banking today still largely seems to be in the “re...