Chris Southworth – Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce – discusses the Conservative candidates’ Brexit proposals from a trade perspective with LBC’s Nick Ferrari.
Chris also elaborates on the need for a strong UK voice on free trade to overhaul the current crisis facing global trade.
To listen to the full interview, please click here.
In an opinion piece for City AM, Chris Southworth – Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce UK – elaborates on the need for businesses to come together and save the WTO.
Chris argues that the world has moved on since the WTO was created, and the system needs urgent modernisation – something that won’t be possible without the business community lobbying for action in their respective countries, and ensuring the survival of the organisation is prioritized on the national agenda.
To read the full article, please click here (pg.15).
Global Credit Data, a not-for-profit data-collection initiative jointly owned by more than 50 leading global banks, has released its second IFRS 9 benchmarking report. Results from the study highlight a significant degree of variability in banks’ expected credit loss estimates of around factor 4, suggesting the IFRS 9 framework has yet to stabilise.
“We remain in the early stages, however, the high level of variability in ECL figures under IFRS 9 is something the industry will need to analyse and address,” says Richard Crecel, Executive Director of Global Credit Data. “If banks don’t act, they may find the regulator acts for them – and imposes more restrictive standards than many would like.”
Read the report here.
The news was covered by The Global Treasurer, Trade Finance Global, Business Money, Fintech Finance.
UniCredit has announced a collaboration with FinDynamic – a start-up fintech company that provides dynamic discounting programs for buyers and suppliers. The agreement sees UniCredit take a minority stake in FinDynamic, as part of the bank’s initiative to enhance its working capital offering for its corporate clients.
Corporates large and small are increasingly searching for effective, tailored working capital solutions to address their individual needs. FinDynamic’s solution, utilising on proprietary technology, allows both the buyer and its suppliers to easily view invoices through a web-based or mobile platform, and select approved invoices for early payment.
This news was covered by: TMI, GTR, Finextra, Fintech insight, TXF, TXF’s Podcast, SCF Briefing, CTMfile, IBS Intelligence, Financial IT, Fintech Finance, Fintech Futures , TRF News, The Paypers, Fin SMEs, Fintech in Shorts, Morning Star, Marketscreener
New connective solutions such as we.trade and the Trade Information Network have garnered significant media attention for their potential to bring greater efficiency to trade and working capital processes.
Yet, by working in harmony, these networks – connecting corporates to corporates, and corporates to banks, respectively – stand to take a further step forward. In the near future, we could see such platforms come together to form a “network of networks” – managing corporate interactions from end to end, and feeding in financing as and when required.
To read the full piece in Fintech Futures, click here.
ICC United Kingdom’s Secretary General Chris Southworth appeared on CNBC to discuss global trade and share his insights on France and the UK’s decision to impose a tax on tech firms – particularly detrimental to US tech giants – despite lack of agreement within the OECD.
Southworth explains that this decision is not about the tech community or the tech system and it’s not singling out the US companies. It’s about modernising the tax system and saying there’s a need for an agreed set of rules for everybody.
More of the conversation can be found on CNBC.
Speaking to LBC’s James O’Brien, Chris Southworth – Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce – elaborates on the realities of a no-deal Brexit from a trade perspective.
Throughout the discussion Chris also touches on the insufficiency of the GATT24 trading “solution”, the economic impact of a no-deal Brexit, what trading under WTO rules means and the likelihood of a trade deal with the US.
The full interview can be found here.
In a profile piece featured in The Banker, Marc Vincent – Natixis’ Head of Corporate and Investment Banking – discusses his career to date, including the bank’s M&A model he has helped build from scratch, driving “essentially zero revenues in M&A in 2012 to over €190m in revenues in 2018.”
Continuing from its successful strategic plan ‘New Frontier’ – whereby the bank adapted a client-centric model to provide innovative and strategic financing across four sectors: real estate and hospitality, aviation, infrastructure, and energy and natural resources – the bank posted return on tangible equity of 10.2% in the first quarter of 2019 with investment banking revenues up 6% year on year, a figure most European peers can only dream of.
Vincent also discusses Natixis’ commitment to its green business, with many industry spectators praising the French bank for being a pioneer in this space. In 2017, the bank launched its Green & Sustainable Hub initiative, which brings together capital resources and expertise to drive sustainable financing, across Natixis’ business lines – indeed, it was the first to structure green commercial mortgage-backed securities on real estate in the US. Recent success stories include the award-winning €300m social bond in 2018 for Danone and the arrangement of a €100m green loan for Voltalia
To read the full article, please click here.
In a recent report, S&P Global Ratings has addressed the questions playing on the minds of investors over the past few weeks: how likely is an escalation of U.S.-Iran tensions, and how would it impact financial institutions and governments in GCC countries?
“While we don’t expect the current geopolitical tensions to lead to any rating actions under our base-case scenario,” explained Timucin Engin, Senior Director, S&P Global Ratings, “we do expect corporates in some sectors to face some operating weakness arising from the geopolitical tensions.”
Following outreach by Moorgate, the report was covered by Trade Arabia, Arabian Business, Gulf News, Islamic Business and Finance, and Banker Middle East.
Following the announcement of Spain’s National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC)’s plans for the new regulatory period, S&P Global Ratings’ Massimo Schiavo and Gerardo Leal gave an exclusive comment to Infrastructure Investor on the impact of the update on the credit quality of utilities in the country.
“This is harsher than we were expecting,” said Schiavo of the regulatory review, which could see revenues reduced by up to 22% for gas distribution and transmission companies.
Please click here for the full article (behind paywall).