Open source bank

a startup idea shared by Otto Barten on 01/24/2018

The investment-side of banking has a single main objective: estimate risks. The profit of an investment is often known, hence if risk is known, the expected financial outcome is also known, and a bank can simply invest in the projects with the highest expected risk-adjusted return. Estimating risk is thus nearly the single reason of existance for banks and other investors alike. Banks are clearly moving from a qualitative approach (this guy seems trustworthy, let's fund him) to a quantitative approach (of loan-takers with this-and-this data profile, we can demonstrate that only 1% default) in the estimation of their risks, and hence in the allocation of their money. This means that no longer will they use an office building full of suits and ties as risk investigators, but increasingly they will just use data and algorithms to do the job. If these algorithms would be open source, everyone could start a bank. That would democratize banking and end the windfall profits which are now common in this sector. It would democratize banking by letting the general population understand and adjust the choices now made by bankers.

banking

Democracy

democratic

economic

finance

financial

financial industry

financial sector

investment

open source

reform