Managing director Christine Lagarde says that within the next 10 years the IMF could be headquartered in Beijing rather than Washington. Maybe, writes Brian Caplen, there is a hidden message for the IMF sceptics in the Trump administration.

Banks are supposed to be sitting on masses of data which, if they could put it to work, would be gold dust. In fact they need more data to do a proper job, writes Brian Caplen.

For all the talk about channel integration, banks have little in the way of back-up when online banking goes awry. The trusty branch – maybe shared by competitor banks – needs to play its part, writes Brian Caplen.

In the Musk-Zuckerberg debate, artificial intelligence could either ruin or save the planet. In responding to the AI challenge, banks need to be aware of the risks, writes Brian Caplen.

HSBC was started in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865 and grew into a global enterprise. But with 74% of profits now coming from Asia it seems to have come full circle, writes Brian Caplen.

Western households have binged on low-interest debt. Banks need to be ready for when it all goes south, writes Brian Caplen.

Credit scoring using alternative data has been lauded as a way to end financial exclusion. But tougher data protection rules could bring everything to a halt, writes Brian Caplen.

Banks in Africa have the highest returns on capital in the world, and the potential in other sectors is equally huge. But, writes Brian Caplen, China is so far ahead in the investment game on the continent that it may be difficult for rivals to catch up.

The Banker’s Top 1000 ranking shows how UK challenger banks are making better returns than the established players, writes Brian Caplen.

The feedback economy is largely linked to the restaurant and travel industries but banks could benefit from taking it more seriously, writes Brian Caplen.