Fintech Finance Podcasts: The FF Salon Pilot with Chris Skinner

Chris Skinner is always right, sometimes to his detriment. Whether it be banking as a service, top bankers, or crypto, the Chairman of Nordic Finance Innovation, and Non-Executive Director of 11:FS have his finger on the pulse of finance, even when others don’t want to listen. 

 

Visiting the FF Salon for trim, Skinner tells us about his storied career in the industry and his infamous reputation for being ‘difficult,’ 

 

“One senior banker called me a troublemaker, others have called me an iconoclast,” Chris proclaims. “How I describe what I do is that I sit within the industry looking out, rather than someone who is on the outside looking in.”

 

The difference lies in reasoning. Being on the inside, Skinner knows that the banks are messed up, and he also knows why it's difficult to change. His main issue comes from the apprehension of institutions to adopt new technologies. 

 

“The traditional banks have a leadership that doesn’t have any technologists in the team. 30 years ago, I was in a company called Wang Computers, and the key Vice President made a presentation that within a few years the leadership team of a bank will have technologists. And yet 30 years later we’re sitting here saying how many technologists are in the executive leadership team of banks? Some.”

 

With this slowness to change, it’s hard not to wonder whether adoption is more of an aversion than an effort for incumbents. 

 

Chris Skinner’s defence against this is to be as loud as possible. From reeling Twitter threads to encyclopaedic books, Skinner can be found on every possible platform informing people on what finance is, and what needs to change.