If anything prompted agility, it was the pandemic. Most banks surprised themselves by how agilely they responded to the immense changes required in record speed. Celent’s Model Bank virtual event brought banking professionals together to discuss the importance of agility in banking, what makes a bank agile and how it can become more agile.
Some people and business owners still do not have bank accounts, most in rural communities of developing nations. But the situation is improving as technology opens doors to financial inclusion for the previously excluded. In what specific ways is increased banking access being achieved, with governments working alongside financial firms?
The pandemic has helped to fuel an increase in fraudulent activity, with more people engaging and transacting with organisations online. In the banking industry this has been borne out by figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which has found a 68 per cent increase in remote banking fraud in 2020.
The enforcement of environmental-crime legislation is evolving in the UK—and the pace is set to quicken, with inevitable implications for financial firms and investors. Increasing enforcement sophistication and AML risks, focus on supply-chain due diligence, and ESG and regulation are three ways in which risk is changing for the industry.
Companies in the US that must recommend monitor candidates to finalize a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice have a challenge ahead of them, and they will need to access and follow published guidance. What criteria should a company prioritize as they propose an impartial but effective monitor?
With corporate responses to climate change burgeoning, how can companies start re-evaluating how they interact with nature to tackle a less frequently addressed but more complex and interlinked environmental threat: biodiversity loss? How can firms protect natural resources, and what are the reputational and financial risks of inaction?
The digital customer experience has become a key differentiator for banks, particularly for big players seeking to stay relevant against their nimbler counterparts. This has become even more important during COVID-19, when institutions have been expected to provide clear and transparent services to support and protect customers as they navigate the pandemic’s many challenges.
In a year that saw the unexpected upheaval and transformation of businesses and societies the world over, the credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) market was no different – having to adapt to the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in order to continue serving its clients. James Esdaile, Managing Director of BPL Global, explains how the sector has fared and how it is set to develop given new trends and evolving client demands.
Nonperforming assets weigh down any bank but are particularly burdensome for those in emerging market economies. South Korea, in response to the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, took steps that provide a blueprint for banks facing different circumstances but similar challenges today.
COVID-19 has strained every part of India’s society, including its financial sector. Small businesses are suffering, but banks (many owned by the government) are hesitant to lend. For India to get back on the road to recovery, institutional finance is crucial. Policy steps in the right direction are being made, but more needs to be done.