December 2015

An expanding middle class and strong long-term fundamentals suggest that pessimism over developing nations’ economic prospects may be overdone.

Beijing, China, November 17, 2015
Global Finance honored the best domestic and foreign banks and renminbi service providers operating in China at its annual Stars of China ceremony.

London, United Kingdom
Global Finance held its annual Best Digital Bank Awards (formerly called the World’s Best Internet Banks Awards) at The Brewery in London in October.

Global Finance’s inaugural Best Private Banks Awards highlight those firms that aim to serve their clients better through the innovative use of technology, new products and service models.

As digital banking transformation becomes a key competitive tool, Global Finance recognizes those banks making the most-effective and most-innovative changes.

As digital banking transformation becomes a key competitive tool, Global Finance recognizes those banks making the most-effective and most-innovative changes.

The Full Listing Of Global, Regional, and Country Awards Winners for The Best Digital Banks of 2015

The World’s Best Digital Bank Awards was preceded this year by the inaugural Global Finance Digital Bank Conference, held in London. Three panels of digital banking experts shared their experiences of competing against nontraditional providers in the financial technology space.

Q+A with Hubert Jolly, Managing Director, Head of Channel & Enterprise Services, Treasury & Trade Solutions at Citi

Q+A with Asit Oberoi, Senior President And Chief Operating Officer, YES Bank

Q+A with Juraj Bojkovský, Director Of Electronic Distribution Channels At Tatra banka

Q+A with Alex Chen, Executive Vice President of Ctbc Bank

José Antonio Ocampo Gaviria, professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, says the slowing of international trade since the financial crisis is a major threat to the world economy.

Country Report | Israel
Chinese investors flock to the nation’s cutting-edge tech sector.

Elections over, Turkey firms up plans to become a financial hub.

Iceland has recovered smartly from the worst recession in its history. Now it must keep inflation at bay—and that might require a monetary overhaul.

Hit by a sharp decline in the price of copper, Chile is putting the brakes on public spending with a 2016 budget that aims at keeping costs under control.

Chinese president Xi Jinping met with Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou on November 7 in Singapore, the first time leaders from the two governments have come together since 1949.

History was made in Myanmar, the country formerly called Burma, on November 8, when the National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by Noble Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won a near-total sweep in the first democratic election in 25 years. 

The world’s biggest banks are cutting jobs and shrinking operations.

In the province of Imbabura in northern Ecuador, approximately a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the capital, Quito, and close to the border of Colombia, sits Yachay, the country’s first planned “city of knowledge.”

Poland
The appointment of Beata Szydło as Poland’s new prime minister, following the victory of her conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) in the latest parliamentary election, has stirred concerns about her relative inexperience and a potentially populist, rightward lurch for the nation.

Puerto Rico
He has become the face of Puerto Rico’s woes, warning in media interview after interview of its inability to pay its bills and serving as the island’s bearer of bad financial news.

Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari announced his new cabinet in November, appointing former banker and government official Kemi Adeosun minister of Finance.

Canada
The Liberal Party representatives who will form Canada’s next government will field several key cabinet posts. Rookie MP Bill Morneau is taking one of the most coveted—minister of Finance.

Management | Trade Negotiations
Corporations’ business decisions depend on regulatory certainty, but as the passing of TPP legislation faces various hurdles, corporate decision-making processes will need to remain flexible.

Capital Markets | Deal Activity
This could be a record year for mergers and acquisitions, surpassing the 2007 peak in the US and globally. But optimism is waning regarding the outlook for 2016.

Management | Corporate Governance
With the enactment of the Modern Slavery Act in October, the United Kingdom has made a new addition to the growing body of compliance regulations sprouting up globally.

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange Controls
In early November, Chinese Communist Party leaders announced plans to make the renminbi a “freely tradable and usable currency”  by 2020—when the latest five-year development plan is set to finish—according to a statement by the party’s Xinhua News Agency.

Trends | Fintech
China’s Big Three Internet and e-commerce companies—Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent—are so big they are referred to collectively as BAT, and all three have received banking licenses and scaled up their e-commerce and finance platforms.

Capital Markets | Renminbi
The renminbi dropped a position in October, going from fourth to fifth, in terms of its use as a currency for international payments, according to the latest SWIFT Renminbi Tracker report.

Capital Markets | Deal Matchmaking
In this age of social media, even business matchmaking, traditionally the domain of word of mouth and handshakes, could use a little tech facelift.

Trends | Taxation
Brazil is well known in the global business sector for its tax complexity, heavy tax burden (around 35% of GDP) and high use of technology for tax collection. Not for nothing do Brazilians call their tax authority—Receita Federal do Brasil—“the Lion.”

Banks, regulators and tech companies are working together for the benefit of customers and the industry as a whole