General News

September 14, 2023 @ 8:10 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Visa (NYSE: V) revealed findings from the seventh edition of its Global Back to Business Study, which found that a majority of surveyed small and micro businesses (SMBs) plan to prioritize cross-border sales as they look to scale beyond Main Street and High Street to… Read More

September 14, 2023 @ 6:54 am By Michael Wong  |  

The OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) has sanctioned financing exceeding $150 million for initiatives across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. These funds will target modern infrastructure development in sectors like health, education, agriculture, water, and sanitation, and also extend financial assistance… Read More

September 12, 2023 @ 6:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Stablecoins are digital currencies which are pegged to major (and relatively stable) fiat currencies like the US dollar, Euro, the British pound (among others). Recently, the team at S&P Global provided a deep dive report into valuation and depegging of stablecoins. As explained in the… Read More

September 12, 2023 @ 11:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Enterprise-grade staking platform Kiln announced that Coinbase Cloud has integrated Kiln’s On-Chain Platform into its product offering, “marking a significant milestone for Coinbase Cloud in streamlining and simplifying the Ethereum staking process.” Kiln On-Chain is a suite of smart contracts designed “to connect integrators and… Read More

September 12, 2023 @ 7:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

  The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has published its joint report on Project Sela. The initiative focused on the cybersecurity, technical, and policy aspects of a retail CBDC implementation. The HKMA is working with the Bank of Israel (BOI) and the Bank for International… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 10:50 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Under its chairmanship of ASEAN this year, Indonesia is placing a strong emphasis on the expansion and enhancement of the region’s local currency transaction (LCT) network. The move is aimed at fortifying trade and investment, streamlining cross-border payments, and advancing financial asset substitutability. Iss Savitri… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 3:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Easier access to financial services in comparison to traditional banks is “a key reason for 41% of consumers turn to embedded financial services,” according to a new study by Solaris and Roland Berger. The ‘Disrupting the value chain for financial services – How to drive… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 3:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sacyr published its Sustainable Financing Framework to integrate sustainability into the company’s financing policy. The document incorporates “all current types of sustainable financings existing in the market, and it follows the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Loan Market Association (LMA) principles for green,… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 3:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Although the US Federal Reserve has been increasing interest rates, lenders have also been increasing consumers’ access to credit. Along with opening up a “record” $89 billion in new credit card accounts during the year’s first quarter, banking institutions also boosted spending limits on 18.4… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 11:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The FBI is issuing this update to caution the general public regarding the theft of approximately $41 million in virtual currency from Stake.com, an online casino and betting platform. The FBI has confirmed that this theft took place “on or about September 4, 2023, and… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 11:25 am By JD Alois  |  

The biggest banks in the US continue to see a decline in total assets, including deposits held at these banks. According to a report distributed by S&P Global Market Intelligence, a majority of the largest banks in the US reported a decline in total assets… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 10:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A report from Xero, the global small business platform, has revealed “that 48% of U.S. small business owners have experienced an extreme or high impact from inflation on their cash flow over the past six months, and 44% expect inflation to continue to have a… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 9:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

No-code tools allow anyone to build apps and automate workflows using a visual interface—no coding or technical skills required, the team at Zapier noted in a recent update. According to Zapier, these tools experienced a dramatic rise “in adoption over the past few years due… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 8:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Nucleus Financial Platforms, one of the UK’s independent adviser platforms, have announced that its acquisition of the Curtis Banks Group has received all necessary regulatory approvals. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have all “issued their approvals,… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 7:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK recruitment activity weakens in August “amid caution over economic outlook,” according to an update shared by KPMG. KPMG has shared some key findings: The steepest drop in permanent placements for over three years Temp billings declined for the first time since July 2020 Pay… Read More

September 11, 2023 @ 7:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) have advanced policy and regulatory recommendations “to identify and respond to macroeconomic and financial stability risks associated with crypto-assets.” Crypto-assets have been in existence “for more than a decade and have displayed significant volatility…. Read More

September 10, 2023 @ 5:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Research from digital identity security specialists, ID Crypt Global, reveals that the number of businesses operating in the UK’s digital identity theft protection market is “set to increase 5% despite market revenue still struggling to match pre-pandemic levels.” ID Crypt has measured the market size… Read More

September 10, 2023 @ 10:55 am By Michael Wong  |  

Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signed a commitment letter for a bilateral loan valued at $300 million. The loan, with a tenure of seven years, is primarily targeted at enhancing financial accessibility for small- and… Read More

September 10, 2023 @ 10:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The individual who acquired the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) recently made a $11.9B commitment so that he may help people streamline their mortgages for a lot less than what consumers are paying right now, according to a report. Founder and Chief Executive Jeffrey Sprecher’s… Read More

September 10, 2023 @ 10:25 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A BNP Paribas survey of 420 asset owners and managers, hedge funds and private equity firms shows that institutional investors are mobilizing capital towards investments that will deliver measurable positive impacts alongside financial returns. Despite data constraints posing the biggest barrier to ESG integration, “especially… Read More