Category Archives: Finance

30Mar/23

Industry players call for a ‘non-stop’ approach to Africa’s banking digitisation

March 30, 2023FinanceCape Town, Economy, Financial technology, Huawei, South Africa, Telecommunicationsadmin

If banks want to remain competitive in the face of neo-bank and fintech upstarts, they’ll have to fundamentally change the way they do business to be digital first. And if they’re going to achieve that goal, then working with technology partners to ensure that they have the right infrastructure in place will be crucial. That was the overriding message from the speakers at a media roundtable event hosted during the Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit for Africa 2023, recently held in Cape Town, South Africa. Continue reading

27Mar/23

Equifax Introduces New OneScore Scoring Model to Help Expand Access to Credit and Drive Financially Inclusive Lending

March 27, 2023FinanceAlternative data, Credit, Credit bureau, Credit history, Credit score, Credit score in the United States, Economy, EFX, Equifax, Finance, Money, Personal finance, United Statesadmin

Equifax® (NYSE: EFX) continues to support financially inclusive lending with the launch of OneScore, a new consumer credit scoring model that combines the company’s leadership in alternative data insights with the power of the Equifax Cloud™ to provide U.S. lenders and service providers with a more comprehensive financial picture of credit seeking consumers. OneScore is unique to the industry because it is the first single score to combine traditional credit history with telecommunications, pay TV and utility payment data on over 191 million consumers, as well as Equifax DataX and Teletrack specialty finance data on 80 million consumers – including payment history from non-traditional banks and lenders – potentially increasing credit scores by up to 25 points and the scorable population by more than 20 percent.

24Mar/23

Women only gained access to the London Stock Exchange in 1973 – why did it take so long?

March 24, 2023FinanceAberdeen, Amy Elizabeth Bell, Australian Securities Exchange, Bradford, Budapest Stock Exchange, Creative Commons, Economy of London, Edith Midgley, Finance, Financial markets, Glasgow, Huddersfield, James Taylor, Julia Hoggett, London, London Stock Exchange, Manchester, Money, Muriel Bailey, Nottingham, Sheffield, Stock, Stock exchange, Stock market, THE BANK OF ENGLAND, Thomas Mortimer, United Kingdom, United States, Victoria Woodhulladmin

James Taylor, Lancaster University

On March 26 1973, the London Stock Exchange admitted its first female members. This followed years of resistance, with London trailing behind other smaller exchanges around the UK.

That women had been excluded for so long was not only due to institutional misogyny. Research has shown how finance was imagined in sexist terms for centuries. And despite the extraordinary accomplishments of prominent female figures over the past 50 years, these biased beliefs persist to this day.

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21Mar/23

PitchBook Predicts VC-Backed Exits

March 21, 2023FinanceCompanies, Economy, Entrepreneurship, PitchBook Data, Private equity, Startup companyadmin

PitchBook, the premier data provider for the private and public equity markets, today released PitchBook’s VC Exit Predictor, a new tool and scoring methodology that objectively assesses a startup’s prospect of a successful exit. The tool leverages machine learning and PitchBook’s database of information on VC companies, financing rounds and investors. The primary component underpinning the tool is a classification model developed by PitchBook’s Institutional Research Group that predicts the probability a VC-backed startup will ultimately be acquired, go public, or not exit due to failure or becoming self-sustaining. PitchBook’s VC Exit Predictor is accessible within the PitchBook Platform and can be found on company profiles and in advanced search. Continue reading

14Mar/23

Silicon Valley Bank: how interest rates helped trigger its collapse and what central bankers should do next

March 14, 2023FinanceBank, Banking, Central bank, Charles Read, Creative Commons, Economic bubbles, Economy, Financial crisis of 2007–2008, Financial services, Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson, Interest rate, Monetary policy, Money, New York, Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Stock market crashes, Systemic risk, The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, United Kingdom, United States, WASHINGTON MUTUALadmin

Charles Read, University of Cambridge

A former prime minister of Britain, Harold Wilson, is famous for remarking that a week is a long time in politics. But in the world of finance, it seems everything can change in just two days.

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13Mar/23

HSBC will acquire the assets of SVB UK. Deposits will be protected

March 13, 2023FinanceBank, British brands, Companies, Economy, Finance, Financial services, HSBC, Investment banks, Jeremy Hunt, London, Silicon Valley Bank, SVB UK, THE BANK OF ENGLAND, United Kingdomadmin

Here’s the HM Treasury statement:

Silicon Valley Bank (UK) Ltd has today been sold to HSBC. HSBC is headquartered in London, is the largest bank in Europe and is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services institutions, serving 39 million customers globally. Customers of SVB UK will be able to access their deposits and banking services as normal from today.
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10Mar/23

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) aim to change the face of accountancy with the launch of their third consecutive virtual work experience programme in collaboration with Cappfinity

March 10, 2023FinanceBusiness, Economy, Economy of the United Kingdom, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Walesadmin

ICAEW has launched their latest virtual work experience programme in partnership with HR tech firm, Cappfinity. The professional membership body, which represents the interests of 195,000 members and students around the world and has 13 offices worldwide, launched its 2023 campaign following the success of its innovative work experience programme in 2021 and 2022. Continue reading

09Mar/23

Lloyds Banking Group invests £10 million in digital identity company Yoti

March 9, 2023FinanceBank, Companies, Crime, Digital identity, Financial services, Fraud, Lloyds Bank, Lloyds Banking Groupadmin

Lloyds Banking Group has invested £10 million in digital identity company Yoti, an investment which supports the development of innovative technology to keep people safe online, tackle the ever-growing risks of identity fraud, and give people more control over their personal data. Continue reading

14Feb/23

Klarna announces global campaign starring Paris Hilton, in collaboration with Hilton’s 11:11 Media

February 14, 2023FinanceAmerican people of German descent, Biographers, European diaspora, Hilton, Klarna, Paris, Paris Hilton, Time, Year 2000 problemadmin

Klarna, the leading global bank, payments and shopping service, today announced the launch of its global multimedia campaign starring Y2K icon Paris Hilton, in collaboration with Hilton’s next-gen media company, 11:11 Media. The campaign features Paris in a series of films responding to Klarna’s flexible payments and shopping app features with her newest catchphrase, ‘That’s Smoooth,’ proving that even the most experienced shoppers are impressed by Klarna’s elevated shopping products. Continue reading

05Feb/23

New Research from Paragon DCX Reveals Asset and Wealth Management Sector Is Struggling with Digital Transformation

February 5, 2023FinanceDigital transformation, Doublecortin, Fictional characters, Fictional people, Marvel Comics characters, Paragon, Proteins, Transformationadmin

New research commissioned by digital transformation and marketing agency Paragon DCX has revealed that the asset and wealth management sector is struggling to prioritise digital transformation. Continue reading