An increasing number of European banks and their supervisory authorities are being drawn into money laundering allegations.According to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) the latest allegations on ‘Troika Laundromat’
The US economy is on track to break its own record; its current 115 months of expansion is only five months shy of the record set in the 1990s. The next recession will come, maybe soon, as the economy succumbs to factors such as policy errors, foreign growth and corporate profit. And the United States will not fall alone; other Western Hemisphere countries will be dragged down with it.
Societies face a stark reality: their 65-plus members are claiming a rapidly increasing population share. Japan may be the guinea pig in this predicament; in the Land of the Rising Sun, the death rate already eclipses the birthrate. How the innovation-savvy Japanese respond will be a model for other countries that will follow in their footsteps. Will Japan’s empathy for its elders be duplicated elsewhere, especially in financial industries?
We recently celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD), a time to recognize the contributions of women and re-affirm our commitment to empowering female colleagues and clients. IWD is also a time to reflect on the areas in which all of us—financial service providers especially—need to do a better job of promoting gender balance.
In January 2016, the 17 SDGs of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development came into force, aiming to end such conditions as poverty, inequality, repercussions of climate change. Agreeing to these lofty goals was one thing; actualizing them is another. Further investment, to the tune of $2.5 trillion for developing economies alone, is one of the main hang-ups. Can the private sector assist its finance partners in closing the gap?
Although the GDPR—designed to augment consumers’ data protection and privacy—is the brainchild of the Council of the European Union and European Parliament, its reach extends far beyond Europe. In the United States, it is no longer a choice but a must for financial firms to adopt stricter consumer-data-protection measures. The costs of not doing so far outweigh the costs of compliance; regulators expect data security, and so do customers.
President Jair Bolsonaro assumed Brazil’s highest political office on January 1, 2019. From mid-2016 to the end of 2018, a team of experts worked diligently to improve Brazil’s integration with the global economy in such areas as relations with international organizations, domestic framework for officially supported export credits and trade policy. Their initiatives provide the new administration with a strong path to prosperity through reduction of lingering barriers to international inclusion.
Since trade finance is lifeblood of global business, it has a positive role to play in driving sustainable practices. Here, banks can lead by example: through collaborative efforts, they can play a crucial role in encouraging a diverse network of counterparties to safeguard environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, while also stimulating growth. So, how can “sustainable trade” be fully realized to meet these ends?
The New Era of Globalization, propelled by the rapid technological advancements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and widespread concern for sustainable development goals, would seem to be on a road undergirded by groundbreaking potential. Yet, there are potholes on the way, not the least arising from growing populist movements. What are some of the damaging risks to avoid and positive disruptive opportunities to foster along this uncharted path?
Brexit looms large over all aspects of the UK’s banking sector, including hiring plans. Continued uncertainty about what direction the UK/EU divorce proceedings will go (if they go at all) has organisations on edge, but that didn’t stop them from hiring last year, research shows. Retaining existing top-notch talent was a priority, but attracting new, highly skilled professionals was also a common goal, with UK banks topping the hiring charts.
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