Banking

By Bongiwe Gangeni, Head of Consumer, Private and Business Banking, Africa & Middle East, and Europe (AME/E), Standard Chartered  …

India is committed to improving financial services for its population, especially the unbanked. The Account Aggregator framework, based on open banking, is boosting credit availability and access to banking services. How specifically is AA propelling digital lending, driving open banking and empowering neobanks? What challenges remain?

The Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening in response to high inflation rates has passed through to mortgage rates with unusual speed, leading to the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hitting 7 percent. The three punches to mortgage rates are higher 10-year US Treasury yields, a wider agency MBS basis and wider mortgage-lender margins.

Cambodia’s Prince Bank is committed to growing its customer base, reaching them wherever they are, online or offline. By masterfully employing top financial technology and mobile applications, Prince Bank is on the road to becoming the country’s leading bank, as CEO Honn Sorachna explains.

The best banking institutions in retail, commercial, private and investment banking are highlighted, along with two outstanding CEOs from their regions.

The New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank formed by the BRICS nearly a decade ago, has run into headwinds due to the actions of a key founding member, Russia. The probable membership of Saudi Arabia will go a long way toward restoring confidence in the bank’s ability to aid emerging economies and the developing world.

The series of US bank collapses in the first half of 2023 has cast doubt on the sufficiency of the deposit insurance administered by the FDIC. The maximum amount insured under current legislation is $250,000, but many accounts involved in the recent spate of failures were above this, causing some to suggest the limit should be eliminated.

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso’s decision to drop out of the August general elections, possibly to avoid prosecution, spared the country from a political crisis, but what will it mean in the long run? With the remaining candidates representing a wide range of ideologies, the outcome will strongly influence the country’s direction.

Most banks claim to have prioritised diversity, equity and inclusion goals in their operations, but as recent surveys among existing and prospective employees show, they have a long way to go to catch up to their targets. What are the benefits of incorporating more diversity into their activities, and how can they improve their approaches?

M&A activity has suffered from uncertainties caused by high interest rates and US debt stress, with European banks among the most affected. Although 2022 European bank dealmaking fell to its lowest level in five years, recent figures indicate that a comeback is underway, which will hinge on how Europe’s macroeconomic environment fares.