Finance

Organisations across the world increasingly expect global access to finance in real-time. They also expect finance to be consistently available in a way that works for them in any country and currency, without the process being held up by the historical constraints of national boundaries.

Invoice financing is becoming increasingly more mainstream as a financing option for businesses — and it may pose an opportunity for banks as well. Invoice financing refers to the process of a business borrowing money against its accounts receivables (versus credit worthiness).

Climate change has already altered industries, and banks have not escaped its reach. Banks are finding that climate-related risks, both physical and transitional, are manifesting on their balance sheets. As with any risk, financial institutions that fail to effectively manage climate-change risks are more vulnerable to the rising tide of environmental hazards. What does recent research indicate about banks’ responses to the financial risks (and opportunities for investment) associated with our changing climate?

Little will be affected as much by the ageing of the world’s population as pensions. In Europe, the ratio of workers to pensioners has decreased and in 40 years will be roughly two to one rather than the much healthier four to one of the recent past. Many wonder from where the pension funds will come, and they should. The solution may lie in the new Pan-European Personal Pension Product.

Despite the gender-diversity rhetoric in business, the gender makeup of corporate boards, including those of MENA, reveal that the female population is poorly represented at the top. And studies prove that this imbalance works against the bottom line. Companies with female directors tend to fly higher profit-wise than their all-male competitors. Changes need to start at the societal level, with more women succeeding on every rung of the business ladder.

China’s Silk Road was for centuries an invaluable network of trade routes connecting Eastern and Western Eurasia. Now, in the 21st century, it has been resurrected in the form of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Despite suspicions about the motives behind the ambitious project, no one would deny the magnitude of China’s sweeping plan for infrastructure and economic development in more than 150 Eurasia countries. But can it pull it off?

Credit cards have become as much a part of our financial lives as checking accounts. For some, being approved for an unsecured credit card is out of reach for a variety of reasons. People with challenging credit situations are turning to secured credit cards as an avenue to achieve credit-worthiness, with attaining unsecured credit as the ultimate goal. What are the factors that expedite graduation from secured to unsecured credit?

Thailand, an emerging market economy, is recognized as Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, with enviable growth over the years—however, its growth has slowed in 2019. Its export-led economy is feeling the pinch from the global economic slowdown, currency appreciation and trade squabbles between the world’s heavyweights. The new government of Thailand is committed to utilizing this captivating nation’s many attributes, keeping it at the forefront of the region’s innovation and investment.

The mandate of financial institutions is to process financial transactions for individuals and businesses, but unfortunately, these institutions are sometimes used for illicit purposes, such as money laundering and terrorist financing. Effective, accurate risk assessment is the foundation of a financial firm’s risk management and regulatory compliance, and there are a number of manual and automated methods available to assess risks. Detecting and acting against suspicious activities is a must for banks today.

When we think of tax fraud in banking, we often don’t consider its far-reaching consequences, including its impact on the human rights of the residents of the states in which it occurs and beyond. By diverting public funds away from where they are needed most, sophisticated tax-avoidance schemes facilitated by banks make the quality of life of affected people that much worse. What must banks do to meet their obligations to the general public?