No economy can boom without a healthy mix of SMEs, but they are often left to fend for themselves when it comes to funding in times of crisis. SMEs have suffered outsized impact from COVID-19 but have not received corresponding loan consideration from big banks. How can this be turned around so that SMEs will not just survive but thrive?
Financial-technology and financial-services firms are transitioning from competitors to partners, exploiting the advantages and resources that each offers—with fintechs bringing technological proficiency and agility and banks providing large and loyal customer bases. Four recent partnerships confirm just how rewarding these unions can be.
Banks are suffering from a problem: cash. Not long ago, many struggled to maintain liquidity, then COVID-19 arrived. Consumers and businesses have flooded them with deposits, as governments have doled out aid, uncertainty has made safe havens attractive, and continual lockdowns have restricted activity. But this is likely to change soon.
Cryptocurrencies have circulated for a while but are still plagued by scepticism. Recently, cryptos have received endorsements from high-profile advocates, and the credibility of this asset class is growing—along with its prices. What are the top cryptos, where are their prices heading, and are they worth serious investor consideration?
The Brexit referendum delivered a punch to the UK’s pound, but the currency has slowly picked itself up and gained some strength despite the pandemic, once again closing in on the US$1.40 mark in February. How well it fares over the next few months will depend on several factors—including the UK’s COVID-19 response but also the raft of unique issues that the nation will face as it evolves post-Brexit.
With just a week left before the December 31, 2020, transition-period deadline, the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) finally agreed to new post-Brexit trading arrangements and, in doing so, avoided a potentially disastrous no-deal scenario. But conspicuously absent from the trade deal are rules governing the financial-services sector.
In June, The Atlantic published “The Looming Bank Collapse”, a piece by University of California, Berkeley law professor and ex-Morgan Stanley derivatives structurer Frank Partnoy, which generated significant debate over whether a banking crisis in the same mould as that witnessed during the global financial crisis (GFC) is just around the corner.
We often like to make predictions about the future, especially when it comes to what we believe are likely to be popular trends. In today’s world, it’s often some new technology that people tout as being “the future”, such as robotics or electric vehicles
According to a report commissioned by the UK’s Treasury, Britain’s financial services system is experiencing an existential skills crisis. Why? As digital start-ups have moved quickly to offer desirable working benefits such as flexible hours or learning and development opportunities, financial institutions have been comparably slow to react to new workplace demands.
On December 15, US bank Goldman Sachs announced what many believe to be the strongest restrictions on fossil-fuel activity by any major bank in the United States. Most notably, the bank has become the first big American lender to restrict financing on any part of the oil-and-gas sector, with a particular focus on protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.