General News

September 24, 2023 @ 10:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The “chill” in startup fundraising is having major ripple effects on startup employee compensation, according to a comprehensive update from Carta. Startups on Carta collectively raised “about $28 billion through the first half of 2023.” That was less than half of the total funds “raised… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 10:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pitchbook introduces their research series: Country Snapshots in which they provide an overview of macroeconomic and microeconomic trends in various regions spanning both private and public markets. Here is what Pitchbook highlighted for Q2 in France: Contrary to VC, PE deal value in France “came… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 7:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hitting their Covid lows, tech M&A deal volume dropped to its lowest level since 2020, according to a report from CBInsights. The CBInsights report also reveals that risk-off strategic acquirers are the primary drivers of “a slowdown in tech M&A activity.” The report further notes… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 4:11 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, raised concerns regarding the influence of social commerce platforms like TikTok Shop on the operations and sales of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and traditional market merchants. He opined that platforms like TikTok should stick to… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 12:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Nation-state cyber threat activity will push the boundaries of war exclusion language, warns cyber risk analytics specialist CyberCube. In a report examining selected nation-state cyber hot zones to gain insight into the potential cyber (re)insurance impacts of future cyber wars, CyberCube monitors these hot zones… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 9:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The latest edition of Accenture’s (NYSE: ACN) China Digital Transformation Index shows that just 2% of Chinese companies are “undertaking the holistic, continuous digital transformation steps needed to drive long term, sustainable growth.” Samantha Zhu, chairperson of Accenture Greater China, said: “A convergence of external… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 6:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

As part of a multi-year effort to transform trade finance, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is launching CashPro Supply Chain Solutions, a platform that will offer participants in a supply chain the benefits of digitization with improved process efficiency and working capital optimization. CashPro is… Read More

September 23, 2023 @ 6:16 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Fintech firm Arta Finance this week named Tomas Arlia its chief investment officer and head of alternative investments. A former CIO of GE Asset Management, Arlia brings more than 25 years of experience to further the company’s offerings in alternative assets, including private equity, private credit, venture capital,… Read More

September 23, 2023 @ 6:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Finance recently commented on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA)’s account access and closure report. According to UK Finance: “Freedom of expression is vitally important and today’s report from the FCA makes clear that accounts are not being closed because of political beliefs or other… Read More

September 23, 2023 @ 6:10 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Recent preliminary data reveals that in July, outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks (U/KBs), excluding reverse repurchase (RRP) placements with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), witnessed a 7.7% year-on-year growth, a slight decrease from the 7.8% reported in June. When assessed on a… Read More

September 23, 2023 @ 6:04 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

New data suggests an increase in fraudulent activities within the automotive, credit card, and mortgage sectors, according to the latest Equifax Canada Fraud Trends Report. The report also suggests the uptick in fraud is being driven by financial pressures faced by consumers and by bold… Read More

September 23, 2023 @ 11:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Exabeam, a global cybersecurity firm that created New-Scale SIEM for advancing security operations, and a 2023 Google Cloud Technology Partner of the Year for Security – Analytics, announced it is expanding its partnership with Google Cloud in “the development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) models… Read More

September 22, 2023 @ 12:38 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Cisco has confirmed its plans to acquire Nasdaq-listed cybersecurity and observability major Splunk for $157 per share in cash, totaling a whopping $28 billion equity value. Gary Steele, Splunk’s current President and CEO, will soon be integrated into Cisco’s Executive Leadership Team, directly under Chair… Read More

September 22, 2023 @ 8:25 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Custodia is pleased to announce that Lisa Hough has joined the bank as Vice President of Strategic Relationships, responsible for helping customers in the U.S. Bitcoin and energy industries “meet their banking and bitcoin custody needs.” Lisa transitioned to the Bitcoin sector in 2019 “after… Read More

September 21, 2023 @ 3:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Genesis Global, the low-code application development platform purpose-built for financial markets organizations, announced the launch of a solution that aggregates new bond deal data for asset managers, accelerates investment decision making and streamlines how they request and receive allocations. In primary markets for corporate bonds,… Read More

September 21, 2023 @ 10:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

British Business Investments announces a £15m follow-on investment into North-West based Universal Leasing Limited. The investment, which follows an earlier £12m commitment made to Universal Leasing in 2018, allows the company “to further increase its support for smaller businesses.” The transaction will be structured “as… Read More

September 21, 2023 @ 10:22 am By Michael Wong  |  

A landmark cooperation agreement has been forged between the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Banking Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (UBBiH). This collaboration is set to strengthen the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) capabilities of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s banking industry. The alliance strives… Read More

September 21, 2023 @ 8:03 am By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England held benchmark rates steady following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to continue its pause. The BOE said the Monetary Policy Committee voted 5 to 4 to hold the Bank Rate at 5.25%. The minority preferred to increase rates by 25 basis… Read More

September 20, 2023 @ 10:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Taurus SA, a digital asset technology provider, has signed a global partnership agreement with Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), one of the world’s major financial services providers. As part of the collaboration, Deutsche Bank will integrate Taurus’ market-leading technology to establish digital asset custody and tokenization… Read More

September 20, 2023 @ 12:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Financement Participatif France, the French crowdfunding association, has provided an update on debt-based platforms in the country. This means platforms that enable peer-to-peer lending, bonds, and mini-bond services. As part of a best practices charter, FPF instituted a requirement for member platforms to post performance… Read More