The Financial Stability Board (FSB) Regional Consultative Group (RCG) for Europe met recently in Dublin. The group discussed global and regional macroeconomic developments and their implications for financial stability. The macro-financial environment continues to be shaped by the adjustment of the global economy to high interest rates, while geopolitical factors are weighing on the outlook. Despite tight financing conditions and subdued confidence, growth in the region is projected to gradually pick up, amid a recovery in real incomes. In global financial markets, certain asset valuations remain stretched and vulnerable to adjustment in the face of adverse shocks. Continue reading…

Eastnets, a global provider of compliance and payment solutions for the financial services sector, has appointed four expert, Independent Board Directors to deepen industry impact and expand global reach. Together with the existing team, the enhanced Board will strengthen Eastnets’ company leadership, further its commitment to high standards of corporate governance, and bring new perspectives to decision-making. Continue reading…

Over 220 central bankers and banking supervisors representing more than 90 jurisdictions met on 24–25 April in Basel for the 23rd International Conference of Banking Supervisors (ICBS). The ICBS included a programme to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Delegates took the opportunity to reflect on the Committee’s achievements over the past half century, the outlook for banks and supervisors, and the implications for the Committee’s future work. Continue reading…

by Fabio Accardi and Emiliano Di Carlo

The debate on corporate finalism, i.e. the purpose of existence of organisations, has always involved scholars, managers and, in general, a plurality of actors who are interested in economics and management issues. The reasons for this interest are deep and can be traced back to the crisis that the capitalist system is going through and which has made obsolete the theories focused on the sole ability of companies to create an economic surplus value in terms of margins between the resources used as raw materials/utilities, labor force and outputs in terms of products/services. The constant greater use and saturation of resources in environmental (raw materials/utilities) and social (workforce) terms and the progressive participation in consumption of larger segments of the population make the only parameter of the profitability of the individual production organisation unsustainable at the global community level. Continue reading…

by Thomas J. Jordan

It is a great pleasure to give you some insights into this pilot project of the Swiss National Bank. The pilot represents the world’s first issuance of a wholesale CBDC on a regulated third-party platform to settle commercial transactions with tokenised assets. Helvetia III is a good example of how learnings from BIS Innovation Hub projects can be leveraged for real world use. We started this work together with the Hub’s Swiss Centre and the private sector more than four years ago. In Helvetia I and II, we jointly expanded our understanding of wholesale CBDC and shared the findings with the central bank community. We took advantage of this groundwork to launch Helvetia III in December 2023, bringing Swiss franc wholesale CBDC from a test setting to real use. Continue reading…

by Simon Yeoman

Social media for business. Crucial asset or Trojan Horse for cybersecurity threats? For a growing business, it’s both. From increasing brand awareness and targeting advertisements to boosting website traffic and conversion, an online presence can reap significant rewards for a brand. However, below the surface, all is not as it seems. Weak passwords, overshared personal details and even simple usernames can expose businesses to data breaches and leaks. And the rise of sophisticated deepfakes further increases this risk, enabling impersonation attacks that can have devastating effects. Continue reading…

by Klaas Knot

What was on our minds when we last met in December 2022? At that time, we had just seen the sharpest tightening of financial conditions since the 2008 global financial crisis. We had concerns about elevated debt levels and interconnectedness between banks and non-bank financial intermediaries amid high inflation and a deteriorating growth outlook. In this context, I emphasized that financial stability could not be taken for granted. So where are we today? Well, these concerns have not vanished; they continue to shape large parts of the FSB’s work. While inflation has somewhat eased, there is still some uncertainty about the persistence of inflation. What’s more, market valuations remain elevated. The tight spreads and low volatility in corporate bond markets are hard to square with rising defaults and upcoming higher refinancing costs. Similarly, equity valuations appear stretched.
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by Daoud Abdel Hadi

When AI entered the mainstream, it instilled a sense of panic in many people. It was seen as a threat that would replace humans across the working world. Given the speed at which AI is advancing, and the emergence of technologies such as ChatGPT, this fear may seem reasonable. But over time, we’ve started to see AI as a helpful tool, not a replacement for humans. And just like any other tool, it can be used for good or bad. As a result, the real threat AI poses is not mass redundancies. It’s the pace at which malicious actors have exploited it to commit crime. To respond effectively, financial institutions need to fight fire with fire, using AI to limit the ability of lawbreakers to get away with their crimes. In doing so, it’s essential to balance the analytical prowess of AI and the nuanced understanding of humans. So what does this collaboration look like? Continue reading…

Basel Committee has published a consultation on guidelines for counterparty credit risk management. The proposed guidelines include key practices critical to resolving long-standing industry weaknesses in counterparty credit risk management. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a consultative document on guidelines for counterparty credit risk (CCR) management. The proposed guidelines will replace the Committee’s Sound practices for banks’ interactions with highly leveraged institutions published in January 1999. Continue reading…

The European Commission has designated Apple with respect to iPadOS, its operating system for tablets, as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”). Apple now has six months to ensure full compliance of iPadOS with the DMA obligations. On 5 September 2023, the Commission designated Apple as a gatekeeper for its operating system iOS, its browser Safari and its App Store. On the same day, the Commission opened a market investigation to assess whether Apple’s iPadOS, despite not meeting the quantitative thresholds laid down in the DMA, constitutes an important gateway for business users to reach end users and therefore should be designated as a gatekeeper.
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