The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today announced that it is inviting views on the future funding of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and has also launched a consultation on a number of specific changes to its scheme rules. Continue reading…

The Board of Directors of Nordea Bank AB has decided to continue the cross‑border mergers between Nordea and its subsidiary banks Nordea Bank Danmark, Nordea Bank Finland and Nordea Bank Norge, respectively, with the aim to complete the mergers by early 2017.
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by Brendan Sinnott and Evert-Jan Lammers

The last day’s seminar – entitled “Citizen participation and the risks of corruption” – was mainly to give space to two new distinguished TI founders’ new books on Corruption. Frank Vogl introduced his, entitled “Waging War of Corruption”, where he outlined the evil effects of corruption – mainly to dispel the myth of victimless corruption. He illustrates this with facts about income inequalities eg the Walmart USA CEO who earned 1100 times the average wage of a Walmart shop-floor employee. Vogl writes about victims worldwide – not just in the DRC but elsewhere in Africa, in Nigeria and Russia and mentions the scourge of sexploitation – a subject rarely mentioned or highlighted. 
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by Brendan Sinnott and Evert-Jan Lammers

Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. What makes this 17th International Anti-Corruption Conference different from all previous ones? Take the following case. You will see how easy it is to fool the world around you. Continue reading…

by Brendan Sinnott and Evert-Jan Lammers

Among the interesting events was a discussion on Overcoming the Shadow Economy, mostly dealing with offshore tax havens. On the speakers, Nick Shaxson, is the author of a book on Tax Havens, called “Treasure Islands”, which quantifies the sums squirreled away in these islands, many of them in the Caribbean. Bodies, such as the OECD, have issued detailed reports on this topic and the Panama Papers news has added fuel to the fire of indignation over this practice. A recent resolution of the G20 called for a public register of Beneficial Owners in each of these havens. The sums are impressive – some $3 trillion according to some projections. A political solution would be the most efficient. Continue reading…

by Brendan Sinnott and Evert-Jan Lammers

The annual IACC has kicked-off. On the opening panel, the President of Panama addressed the 1,000+ people audience. The speaker from the World Bank replied “Mr. President, I respect you” but then shook the President’s hand last. It set the tone. All presentations were a cry for equality and justice.
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Banking supervisors and central bankers from around the world attended the 19th International Conference of Banking Supervisors (ICBS) this week in Santiago, Chile to discuss the new regulatory framework for the coming years and the importance of sustainable prudential banking for financial stability. The ICBS was hosted by the Chilean Superintendency of Banks and Financial Institutions. Participants were also honoured to be joined by the President of the Republic of Chile. President Michelle Bachelet emphasised the importance of a robust banking system for meeting the needs of the broader community.
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What is the best paid sector for risk managers? How much do risk managers spend on broker services? What does a typical Airmic member look like? Airmic has revealed the results of its biennial Salary and Status Survey, read the highlights here. The industrial and manufacturing sector is the most lucrative industry for risk managers, according to Airmic’s 2016 Salary and Status Survey, which also revealed an overall fall in salaries across almost all age groups. 
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published the interim findings of its asset management market study, which suggests that there is weak price competition in a number of areas of the asset management industry. The FCA launched the market study in November 2015 to assess whether competition is working effectively. It looked at whether institutional and retail investors get good value for money when purchasing asset management services.
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by Jaime Caruana

Today my topic is the global bond market, a subject of keen interest to asset managers. The bond market in major currencies plays a much larger role than funding the gap between government spending and revenues. Nowadays the yields on such bonds ramify widely in the real economy and financial markets. Corporate treasurers use these yields to assess the value to shareholders of real investment projects. These yields determine how much households pay on their fixed rate mortgages. And they have become the cornerstone of valuation of other long-term assets, ranging from equities and real estate, to gold and foreign exchange.  Continue reading…