It must be absolutely obvious who are the principals in the campaign
to eliminate cash – it’s the card issuers and the card brands. Both have
serious financial interests in play.
In the UK the major banks have reduced their branch networks and with it their ATM estates – to cut costs. Theirs is a major cost reduction […]
Report on the trial of the miscreant Richard Towne – “the Zeeland Sands Chunderer”
We have done four previous blogs about the punishment of economic crime as recorded in the Old Bailey archives and particularly for the period when we have the “Ordinary’s Account” of the resulting executions.
Now we should move on to the cases of […]
Extract from “Ordinary’s Account” of executions at the Tyburn on 23rd March 1752
We have recently published three blogs about economic crime
in the modern day and its equivalents in the Old Bailey archives, with special
references to the “Ordinary’s Accounts”: the Newgate prison chaplain’s narrative
about each condemned prisoner and their crime.
Report OA17520323 of 23rd […]
The heinous crime of Thomas Wood…but he did not get to face the drop.
We have previously examined the archives of Old Bailey
proceedings for precedent offences to those of issuing Stablecoin (“coin
clipping”) and issuing Bitcoin (“uttering counterfeit currency”).
To close the loop we need to take a position on the running
of a Bit/Stablecoin exchange, and to do […]
The chaplain’s account of the demise of divers traiterous malefactors
The archives of Old Bailey proceedings are detailed in their
coverage of offences to do with the Coin of the Realm, and infringements
thereof.
In a previous blog we explored whether Stablecoin was an
example of “coin clipping” because, although supposedly backed by fiat
currency, gold, silver or whatever, it was […]
Benjamin Smith’s Treason: Clipping the King’s Coin
I count myself very lucky in the current difficulties for
many things, including having an Open University MA in English local history to
be getting on with. It is 100% remote and can be done on a social-distance or
self-isolation basis, apart from missing out on visiting fusty archives.
The current module is […]
The Euro is a currency without a Eurozone sovereign legal person backing it. Swathes of Eurozone financial assets are rated and accounted for as if there was such a legal person, whereas the backing for these assets is far less impressive.
The consequence is that the Eurozone
financial system is far less well-capitalised than it appears, and […]
I have taken on the role for one year of chair of the trade association for the UK’s Payment Institutions. This is the Association of UK Payment Institutions and I will be attempting, as my main focus, to resolve the issue around bank accounts in the UK.
Since UK banks have started their process of de-risking, […]
Important forenote
“It is a great pleasure to make this address to you as the Managing Director designate of the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator.
I would like
simply to outline the nine focus areas for the first year of my tenure in this
role.
With your
kind permission I will dispense with any flannel about the background and any
claims to great […]
The UK was a major participant in the financial bailout of the Republic of Ireland in 2010-2014, and will remain so under the Withdrawal Agreement, notwithstanding its leaving the EU.
The bailout loans from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (“EFSM”), the European Financial Stability Facility (“EFSF”) and the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) totalled EUR62.7 billion, the […]