Banks roll back climate commitments ESG appears to be retreating, with banks having increased their fossil fuel financing in 2024, just as climate change poses growing threats to the insurance industry and raises questions about financial stability. A new report, Banking on Climate Chaos, by a nonprofit group finds that despite previous
Open finance runs into limitations over “super-apps” The move by BNPL provider Klarna into mobile phone services signals an ambition to build a “super app.” But while open finance holds promise, replicating Chinese platforms such as WeChat and Alipay may be a step too far. Holding a banking license was long regarded as
How should banks report environmental risk? One of the most commonly used measures for environmental risk is carbon emissions, sometimes referred to as a carbon footprint. Carbon footprinting refers to the process of calculating and analyzing the total amount of GHGs (not just carbon dioxide) emitted directly or indirectly by an individual or
Gen AI: What are the key concepts and technologies? AI is not just one technology. Rather, it is an entire field of study in the same way that something like physics is. Similarly, while physics has numerous branches or subfields – such as thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics – so too does AI:
NBFIs come under regulators’ spotlight Nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs) such as hedge funds, private equity firms, and money market funds have taken a growing share of financial intermediation from traditional banks. This shift toward so-called “shadow banking” has heightened concerns about systemic risk, prompting regulators to step up scrutiny of the sector. The
TradFi embraces DeFi in landmark blockchain initiative An initiative between a group of financial institutions and the world’s most publicly used blockchain promises to accelerate the migration of real-world assets onto the distributed ledger. R3, a UK-based software group which has developed blockchains used by financial institutions including HSBC, Bank of America, Euroclear, and
How tariffs influence markets: A practical perspective This piece is a transcription of a recent conversation exploring how policy decisions and executive actions from the Trump administration continue to shape the global financial landscape. It examines the relationship between political leadership and the Federal Reserve, and how trade policies and debates around central
Is AI the missing link in modern investing? Active investing is evolving. As AI-powered tools gain traction and institutional flows become more visible, portfolio managers are rethinking how they build and adjust positions. At the same time, tighter research budgets and shifting regulations have made it harder to maintain a traditional fundamental approach. This
European anti-money-laundering reform An in-depth conversation with Stephen Rae Europe has just centralized its fight against financial crime with the launch of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), giving Brussels direct oversight of major banks and crypto-asset providers. At the same time, the U.S. is easing some reporting requirements even as crypto-based laundering grows, raising
The Trade Life Cycle: 5 Key Stages For many, a trade simply refers to the moment that two counterparties engage in a transaction, such as the exchange of cash for a bond in a securities trade or the exchange of two currencies in an FX trade. In reality, for a trade to take place,
