International Business – FINANCE NEWS

Class of COVID-19: Next generation of bankers fear for future

2May

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Banking and Insurance, Equity Market, Finance and Leasing, Fintech, FX Market, International Business

Class of COVID-19: Next generation of bankers fear for future

(Reuters) : It wasn’t the introduction to high finance that Adi Patel had once anticipated. The stage fright of walking into the imposing offices of a $607 billion asset manager in the heart of a historic financial district? Pandemic era: a five-day induction on Microsoft Teams. The rip-roaring intensity of the trading floor replete with sharp-suited money managers? Not quite - hunched over a laptop with comfy clothes in a flat-share. Client lunches, and perhaps swapping stories after work with fellow graduates embarking on first steps in finance? Not likely. The pandemic has put paid to many initial expectations of the financial industry's Class of COVID-19. That group includes new recruits at finance firms around the world, such as 22-year-old graduate analyst Patel and two ...

HSBC to axe 82 UK branches, cut services in others

21Jan

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Banking and Insurance, International Business

HSBC to axe 82 UK branches, cut services in others

(Reuters) - HSBC plans to axe 82 branches in Britain this year after a drop in footfall across its retail network and a surge in digital banking, the bank said on Tuesday. The lender said it would be left with 511 branches in the UK after the closures, with many of those to be remodelled and some to provide fewer services. A spokesman for HSBC said the bank would aim to redeploy affected staff to nearby branches where possible, adding that customers would see the removal of counter services in some of the retained branches. The COVID-19 pandemic has dented bank finances, putting pressure on lenders to cut costs, while more customers have opted to bank online after being encouraged to stay at home to combat the spread of the virus. HSBC said it had begun trials of differe...

Financial Regulators to face dilemma once the withdrawal from Covid-19 measures begins

14Dec

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Banking and Insurance, Economy, International Business, Opinion

Financial Regulators to face dilemma once the withdrawal from Covid-19 measures begins

The Financial Regulators across the World will face a dilemma once the withdrawal from Covid-19 measures begins as to how and when to exit from regulatory relief measures in balancing the benefits of economic relief with financial stability considerations. "The challenge will be how and when to exit from regulatory relief measures. In terms of timing, authorities need to steer a course between Scylla and Charybdis. Acting too early may remove much needed credit to support economic growth. Waiting too long may delay necessary resource reallocation and put additional long-run pressure on the financial sector as the solvency phase of the crisis could expose any depletion of loss-absorbing resources, potentially undermining confidence in the post-crisis regulatory regime and its abilit...

Swiss National Bank moves closer towards digital assets

4Dec

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Banking and Insurance, Finance and Leasing, Fintech, International Business

Swiss National Bank moves closer towards digital assets

The Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) Innovation Hub joined the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and financial infrastructure operator, SIX, in an experiment that integrates tokenized digital assets and central bank money. SNB announced that it has carried out a successful test of a centrally-issued digital currency. According to BIS, the test which is named 'Project Helvetia' explored the technological and legal feasibility of transferring digital assets through issuing a wholesale CBDC onto a distributed digital asset platform and linking the digital asset platform to the existing wholesale payment system. "The initiative demonstrated the feasibility and legal robustness of both alternatives in a near-live setup," BIS said. However, it ackowledge several challenges that cou...

Sri Lanka’s banks to show reluctance to absorb their subsidiary Finance Firms – Fitch Ratings

24Nov

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Banking and Insurance, Business, Economy, Finance and Leasing, International Business

Sri Lanka’s banks to show reluctance to absorb their subsidiary Finance Firms – Fitch Ratings

Sri Lanka's banks would be reluctant to absorb their finance and leasing companies (FLC) due to the significant difference between their risk profiles and underwriting practices which could lead to elevated challenges in achieving effective management, According to Fitch Ratings. The government's budget speech, presented on 17 November 2020, reiterated the importance of consolidation in the FLC sector, which has been on the cards since 2014 when the Central Bank (CB) announced its 'Master Plan for the Consolidation of the Financial Sector'. It led to several banks acquiring FLC subsidiaries in 2014 and 2015, including the acquisition of HNB Finance (then Prime Grameen Micro Finance Limited) by Hatton National Bank and Serendib Finance (then Indra Finance Limited) by Commercial Bank of ...

CHEC Port City Says no Colombo Port City Employees tested positive for COVID-19

11Nov

By AuthorNo Comments

Business, Chinese, Economy, International Business

CHEC Port City Says no Colombo Port City Employees tested positive for COVID-19

The project company of the Port City, CHEC Port City Colombo today stressed any employees at the Port City site has been tested positive for COVID-19 while clarifying that the two local workers and four Chinese who tested positive for COVID-19 were employed at a different project in Kotahena(Colombo 13). "This accommodation facility was only used by the workers employed for that project and not employed or engaged in any interaction with Port City Colombo site or its employees," the company said. Following the confirmation of the cases, the company noted that the mentioned accommodation was put under lockdown, and movement in and out of the site was restricted. It further stated that since Port City Colombo resumed day to day operations, all Port City staffs have gone through PC...

IT-BPM opportunities in SL promoted among British Sri Lankan community

11Nov

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International Business

IT-BPM opportunities in SL promoted among British Sri Lankan community

Sri Lanka High Commission in London in collaboration with the Association of Professional Sri Lankans in the UK (APSL UK) and Sri Lanka Association for Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM) organised a webinar on 29 October 2020 to launch the SLASSCOM Global Referral Program. The objective of the webinar was to introduce the potential of the IT-BPM Industry in Sri Lanka and the opportunities therein to the British Sri Lankan community, for them to contribute to its growth by becoming a referrer of the SLASSCOM Program. This is the first time the SLASSCOM Global Referral Program was launched in a foreign country, and it was attended by over 140 registered participants. Delivering the opening remarks, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in the UK, Saroja Sirisena stated that the objective...