Ben T. Smith IV, a longtime Silicon Valley executive and currently head of the Communications, Media and Technology practice at Kearney, speaks to Global Finance about the post-SVB venture capital industry and the pace of innovation.
Many of the world's richest countries are also the world's smallest: the pandemic and the global economic slowdown barely made a dent in their huge wealth.
Global Finance editor Andrea Fiano interviews Ásgeir Jónsson, Central Bank Governor of Iceland during Global Finance's World's Best Bank Awards at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on October 15th.
Since the magazine's launch in 1987, Global Finance awards have become a benchmark for excellence in financial sector verticals such as digital banking, foreign exchange, private banking and trade finance. Here are the 5 awards stories that got the most attention in 2017.
May 2017: For the 24th annual Best Banks survey, we identified the best banks in more than 150 countries and eight regions. The winners are not necessarily the biggest banks, but rather, the best—those with the qualities that corporations should look for when choosing a bank.
December 2016: The winning banks took on the challenge of growing revenues and brand presence at a time when private banks struggled against a period of slowing, and even shrinking, asset growth, choppy equity markets and declining bond returns. In additions, they dealt with the pressure of delivering customer expectations in an always on, 24/7 digital age while maintaining a perosonlized luxury experience and a contemporary image to cater to the growing ranks of wealthy millennials and the emerging rich.
September 2017: Banks come, go, merge and split, but our 26th annual Safest bank ratings provided a consistent measure of bank stability. We used long-term foreign currency deposit ratings (or an equivalent, if a deposit rating is not available) from all three of the major international credit rating agencies. In addition, we factored in asset size, as that has historically correlated with stability.
September 2017: For our 18th Best Digital Bank Awards, evolving customer needs drove financial institutions’ technology innovations. Winners were selected based on the length and breadth of digital measures implemented both within and outside the company with an aim to increase operation efficiency and online customer satisfaction.
February 2017: Global Finance selected the best trade finance banks across 83 countries and nine regions along with the best bank for trade finance globally as well as the best banks in various service categories, such as document management and export finance. Winners were chosen on the basis of trade-related transaction volume, global coverage, customer service, competitive pricing, risk management and innovative products, services and technology.