General News

March 20, 2024 @ 3:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

As anticipated, the US Federal Reserve has held benchmark rates steady while expecting three rate cuts later in 2024. The Federal Open Market Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 to 5-1/2 percent while reiterating its commitment to… Read More

March 19, 2024 @ 10:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Nacha members have approved a set of rules intended to reduce the incidence of frauds, such as business email compromise (BEC), that make use of credit-push payments. Nacha governs the ACH Network, the payment system that enables Direct Deposits and Direct Payments in the US…. Read More

March 19, 2024 @ 9:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

RevRoad explains that their platform provides growing companies with what they really need, which includes everything from a starter team to business services. RevRoad says that they are a venture services firm that helps portfolio companies grow “with a team and essential services for up… Read More

March 19, 2024 @ 9:19 am By JD Alois  |  

LarrainVial, one of the largest financial services groups in Chile, has acquired a 25% ownership stake in Aubrey Capital Management. The investment is part of a strategic partnership between the two firms. Aubrey, based in Edinburg and London, is a specialist boutique manager primarily focused… Read More

March 19, 2024 @ 12:19 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

New research from the Paze PulseSM Report, by Early Warning Services, revealed that over the past year, 71% of online shoppers have abandoned their online shopping carts. While an overly complicated checkout process and security concerns were among the top reasons for cart abandonment cited… Read More

March 18, 2024 @ 10:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A total of 1,843 deals (mergers & acquisitions [M&A], private equity and venture financing deals) were announced in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region “during January-February 2024, which is a year-on-year (YoY) decline of 19.6% compared to the 2,292 deals announced during the same period in previous… Read More

March 18, 2024 @ 5:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

As VC-backed startups continue to contend with bear-market headwinds, startup hiring and compensation have undergone a reset, according to an update from Carta. Last year marked a startup employment contraction: There were more total job departures from companies on Carta in 2023 than there “were… Read More

March 18, 2024 @ 4:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) technology transformation is reportedly set to reache its next phase with the introduction of OneTru, a platform that is said to be built for AI-powered data collaboration. The OneTru solution enablement platform reportedly capitalizes on “the company’s authoritative data assets, cloud-enabled infrastructure… Read More

March 15, 2024 @ 6:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

NatWest Group has announced a strategic minority investment in Icon Solutions, a fintech provider of payments technology and consultancy services. The investment follows the news last September that NatWest “selected Icon Payments Framework (IPF) to accelerate the bank’s payments modernisation.” Launched in 2020, IPF is… Read More

March 15, 2024 @ 10:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Grasshopper has announced Gabrielle Piasio’s addition as Senior Vice President of Sponsor Banking. This move marks the bank’s continued commitment to providing comprehensive lending and depository solutions to companies of all stages. In this role, Piasio is expected to help move the banking institution’s strategic… Read More

March 15, 2024 @ 8:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Levenue, a revenue-based financing company, has acquired MidFunder, a Zurich-based Fintech that provides financing for companies with recurring revenue. The acquisition marks a strategic move to enhance its Swiss operations. As entrepreneurs and early-stage investors, Patrick Frei, Founder of MidFunder, and Pascal Schumperli, Co-Founder, identified… Read More

March 14, 2024 @ 2:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Private equity fundraising declined by around 1.2% globally to $554 billion last year, according to data shared by PitchBook. And the number of funds declined by around 46% to 647 from 1,192. Funds of $5 billion or more reportedly accounted for almost 50% of 2023’s… Read More

March 13, 2024 @ 6:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Spring home sellers looking to maximize their sale price may want to wait it out and list their home for sale in the first half of June, according to an update from real estate firm Zillow (Nasdaq: Z and ZG). A new Zillow analysis of… Read More

March 13, 2024 @ 12:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a significant leap forward for the cybersecurity sector, Eye Security has announced a €36 million Series B investment led by J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and TIN Capital. The funding round marks “a new chapter in… Read More

March 13, 2024 @ 12:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Financement Participatif France (FPF), the French Crowdfunding Association, has distributed an X that highlights women’s participation in the securities crowdfunding sector. Notoriously, the VC sector has supported fewer female-founded firms than crowdfunding platforms. Recently, Financement Participatif posted a report on investment crowdfunding activity in the… Read More

March 13, 2024 @ 11:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

IQ-EQ, a global firm focused on investor services, has appointed Romain Mifsud as Chief Commercial Officer for activities in France as well as Switzerland. With 14 years’ experience in the private market industry, Romain reportedly “specializes in private equity, real estate, private debt and securitisation.”… Read More

March 13, 2024 @ 8:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Starling Bank announces the appointment of Raman Bhatia as Group Chief Executive Officer. He will take over from John Mountain, who has “been acting as interim CEO since our founder Anne Boden announced she was stepping back from the role last year.” Raman is currently… Read More

March 13, 2024 @ 5:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

SmartStream Reference Data Services (RDS), a provider of financial reference data, has announced the launch of an enhanced derivatives data service, providing in-depth insights into futures related transactions. This expansion is said to be crucial for “meeting EMIR Refit reporting requirements.” The EMIR Refit initiative… Read More

March 12, 2024 @ 10:40 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Deloitte announced the launch of InvestAcceleration, a new suite of solutions designed specifically for the investment management industry and is an industry-specific approach to implement Workday Financial Management. InvestAcceleration, helps investment management firms “address risks and challenges, including lack of agility, complex workflows and disparate… Read More

March 12, 2024 @ 10:40 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The latest NatWest Regional PMI survey showed business activity “growing across most parts of the UK in February.” Business confidence also generally picked up amid “a more broad-based improvement in underlying demand.” Labor market trends remained more varied, however, “with firms in most areas reporting… Read More