by Paul White

For decades, the wealth, trust and corporate services sector has been guided by the steady hand of the “old guard.” This group has long been revered for upholding tradition, maintaining stability and fostering trusted relationships. But as Bob Dylan once said, “The times they are a-changin’.” For many, the wealth, trust and corporate services sector has been managed ‘as it’s always been done,’ with point solutions, manual processes and the odd lever arch file here and there. But now, as wealth shifts from baby boomers to gen X and millennials – an estimated £1 trillion throughout the 2020si – expectations have evolved. Younger generations are accustomed to digital solutions like open banking, instant payments and apps with real-time data on investments. Continue reading…

The European Innovation Council (EIC), part of the EU research and innovation programme Horizon Europe, will support European deep tech research and high-potential start-ups with €1.4 billion next year. The EIC Work Programme 2025, which the Commission adopted on 29 October, represents an increase of nearly €200 million in comparison with 2024. In addition to a bigger budget, the 2025 work programme brings several improvements, including better access to scale-up equity funding with the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) scale-up scheme, introduced following the STEP regulation adopted earlier this year. Other improvements based on the recommendations of the EIC Board are also included. Continue reading…

Twenty finfluencers are being interviewed under caution by the FCA, as it launches targeted action against finfluencers who may be touting financial services products illegally. The FCA also issued 38 alerts against social media accounts operated by finfluencers which may contain unlawful promotions. Increasing numbers of young people are falling victim to scams, and finfluencers can often play a part. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of 18 to 29-year olds follow social media influencers, 74% of those said they trusted their advice and 9 in 10 young followers have been encouraged to change their financial behaviour.  Continue reading…

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has recently published a Decision setting out the procedural aspects related to the significance assessment of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs) and the transfer of supervisory responsibilities, including the establishment of supervisory colleges for significant ARTs (s-ARTs) and significant EMTs (s-EMTs). Continue reading…

The FCA has published the results of a survey to better understand how firms record and manage allegations of non-financial misconduct. The survey of over 1,000 investment banks, brokers and wholesale insurance firms found that the number of allegations reported increased between 2021 and 2023. When the survey launched, the FCA was clear that it was likely that data could be read in different ways. For example, a high number of complaints could be an indicator of a healthy culture in which people feel they can speak up, confident they will be listened to. A low reporting rate may indicate the opposite.  Continue reading…

by Paul White

The wealth, trust and corporate services sector is awash with mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Yet, it’s no secret that the M&A market declined in 2023 and has continued on a similar trajectory this year. In fact, earlier this year, a collapse in deal flow, meant only nine disclosed M&A transactions took place, representing a decline of 50% in activity. The valuation gap between what buyers wanted to spend and what sellers want to charge for their companies has and will continue to keep many would-be deals from happeningi. Continue reading…

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has on 17 October published for consultation a Format for Incident Reporting Exchange (FIRE), a common format for financial firms’ reporting of operational incidents, including cyber incidents. FIRE aims to promote convergence in reporting practices, to address operational challenges arising from reporting to multiple authorities, and to foster better communication within and across jurisdictions. FIRE builds on the FSB Recommendations to Achieve Greater Convergence in Cyber Incident Reporting, published in 2023. Continue reading…

Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank has a strong global footprint with over 8,900 employees in key regions including Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. As the corporate and investment banking arm of the Crédit Agricole Group, Crédit Agricole CIB offers its large corporate and institutional clients a range of products and services in capital markets activities, investment banking, structured finance, commercial banking and international trade, most of which demand significant computing power to manage and analyse substantial financial data effectively. Continue reading…

The BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) has recently published two reports to the G20 that offer key insights and recommendations on the interlinking and interoperability of payment systems to enhance cross-border payments. Continue reading…

In the Political guidelines issued by President von der Leyen upon entering into office in 2019 it was announced that the Commission would set up a mechanism covering all Member States aiming at evaluating via annual reports the compliance with the Rule of Law standards(1). Last 24th of July the Commission issued the reports following the 2023 evaluation exercise(2). In the report concerning Italy some remarks on the freedom of press raised some turmoil on the Italian media. I’m not sure if in Italy the freedom of press is in danger or not, whereas it is clear to me that rule of law standards are being infringed in Italy in many serious respects that were overlooked by the report. Here I want to focus on the methodological reliability of the report. I will first of all briefly single out some of the most preposterous violations of the rule of law standards that were overlooked by the report on Italy and subsequently I will focus on the methodology employed. 

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