ABI and GBIC note that the current regulatory approach to non-performing exposures was developed under completely different circumstances and should, therefore, be reconsidered in light of the pandemic emergency.
As with its previous funds, Finch plans to back 15-20 European startups, targeting liquidity 3-5 years post investment, over the fund’s three year initial investment lifespan.
The danger is that this digital finance ecosystem will simply get sucked into the mainstream banking industry through acquisition, or because FinTech becomes merely back-end service providers to the big banks and disappears as an industry of its own. Or FinTech will try to mimic the big banks, driven by where the money is or by the constraints of regulation.
Frankfurt saw the potential for 10,000 jobs moving to the city. So, where are we now? Coronavirus continues to cast a cloak of uncertainty over everything
“SEPA is interbank functioning,” points out Weimert. “Do I as a consumer care? No. Do merchants care? No, since it doesn’t give me a solution that I can use in a shop or online - I cannot click on a SEPA button on a website. SEPA is only rails and not the front-end solution.
We tried many things on our journey and we eventually came up with the solution we have today. We had a plan, but we were open to new ideas and tried not to limit ourselves to any technology or methodology. It was the freedom and agility from day One that allowed us to act as an independent company, build the startup culture and make sure we can come up with the best possible solution.
“US authorities have dominated the global AML landscape through the imposition of numerous huge fines for AML failings. But that has changed somewhat in recent years - US fine amounts have fallen while other jurisdictions, particularly in Europe, have imposed very large fines of their own,” explains Duff & Phelps’ head of UK regulatory consulting Nick Bayley.
A couple of years ago the Financial Stability Board (FSB) sought to bring some order to things, officially substituting “shadow banking” for “non-bank financial intermediation” (NBFI).
Europe badly wants more ‘unicorns’ - privately held start-ups with a value above $1 billion – and there has never been a moment of greater need for businesses to succeed.