Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. In a break during a tense 2009 Citigroup board meeting, one of Wall Street’s more influential figures Robert Rubin approached the firm’s outside investment banking adviser, Scott Bok. Former US Treasury secretary Rubin, at that
Listen to article KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan’s 2024 Financial Stability Review signals improving macroeconomic conditions, with easing inflation, stable exchange rates, and a rebound in private sector credit. The banking sector showed strong performance, though concerns remain over rising borrowings, stressed microfinance banks, and global protectionist risks. The review highlights that macroeconomic conditions improved considerably
A cohort of Democratic Senate Banking Committee members Thursday demanded answers from the nation’s deposit insurer regarding an ongoing Department of Government Efficiency-led effort to cut over a thousand agency staffers. In the letter to acting Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Travis Hill, Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.; Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; and
Despite his familiar surname, Robert Owen Lehman Jr. never figured prominently in the family business.— “Robin,” as he’s known, was not a bigwig at Lehman Brothers, the global financial services firm founded nearly two centuries ago by his great grandfather. Instead, his focus has been art – collecting it and making it. Perhaps because he
The EASE Protocol has launched what it claims is the first functional integration of the ISO 20022 financial messaging standard directly into blockchain smart contracts, opening new pathways for cross-chain banking automation and regulatory-compliant settlement across blockchain ecosystems. The integration, now live on the EASE testnet, allows banks to trial ISO 20022-based workflows in a
Bangladesh’s banking sector faces significant challenges due to longstanding structural weaknesses and recent emerging risks, according to the World Bank (WB). Low economic growth due to political uncertainty, forex shortage, and low investor confidence are feared to worsen vulnerabilities in the financial sector, dominated by banks representing 88 percent of total financial sector assets. For
JPMorgan Chase this week promoted 118 people in global banking and markets to the rank of managing director, the firm’s highest designation outside of the C-suite. The number is up slightly from the 116 executives the firm elevated to managing director in these business lines last year. The new MDs sit within JPMorgan’s commercial and
Doha – Société Générale Marocaine de Banques has launched a major digital transformation initiative in partnership with IBM and Power Maroc (PowerM). The bank is transitioning from monolithic applications to a microservices-based architecture to enhance operational efficiency, strengthen security measures, and deliver superior digital banking services. As Morocco’s digital landscape evolves, customer expectations for seamless
Muscat: As part of its steadfast commitment to fostering sustainable growth and driving excellence within the Islamic financial landscape, Sohar Islamic, the Islamic banking window of Sohar International, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA). The collaboration underscores the bank’s proactive approach to aligning with global benchmarks in
Synopsis When you look at the banking sector, it is not just about excel sheets. It is about the ability to differentiate between the white, black, and grey in terms of the businesses that banks finance. Today, a bank financing exporters faces more uncertainty than one giving loans to domestically-focused companies. But what happens to