The Monday note - 11 September 2017

• The FTSE 100 closed on Friday at 7,377.6, down nearly 61 points on a week earlier as geo-political risks dampened investor sentiment. Ten year Gilt yields softened to 1.01%. 
• The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 bps to 1.00%, its second increase this year. The central bank cited stronger than expected economic growth, which it viewed as “self-sustaining”. 
• Scandinavian bank, Nordea, is planning to relocate its HQ from Stockholm to Finland. The bank cited proposed bank taxes in Sweden, and Finland’s membership of the Eurozone, as reasons for the move. 
• Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, is planning to enter the UK online banking market, possibly next year. In the US, it already offers online savings and lending services to consumers. 

Chief Economist comments: 

We hear a lot about disruption, usually with a tech upstart shaking up an established industry, and placing the old guard under pressure. Goldman Sachs has reminded us that disruption comes in many forms, and there are old guard firms with lots of tech knowledge and talented people. Back in the hedge fund boom, people used to call Goldman the world’s largest hedge fund; today it is a tech disruptor, having gravitated towards the next rising trend in the economy. Established firms are responding to the digital revolution with their own tech disruption. Their real estate needs will adapt accordingly, and trendy offices for banks are popping up all over the world.