General News

April 25, 2024 @ 9:40 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Smart Pension, which claims to be one of the UK’s leading workplace pension providers, has appointed Claire Misata as Business Development Director. Claire will lead relationship development for Smart Pension “with trustees and Employee Benefit Consultants (EBCs). Her appointment follows Smart Pension’s recent announcement that… Read More

April 24, 2024 @ 4:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Xero, the global small business platform, released its latest Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) quarterly update for Canada, based on data from October to December 2023. The data showed that Canada’s small business sales decline “may be levelling off, which is an encouraging signal for… Read More

April 24, 2024 @ 11:26 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Figure Technology Solutions, provider of a scaled technology platform built to enhance efficiency and transparency in financial services, announced the appointment of Michael Tannenbaum as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. In conjunction with the appointment, Mike Cagney,… Read More

April 24, 2024 @ 8:23 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Finance, in association with law firm Addleshaw Goddard LLP, is announcing a report on the use of model clauses to support the development of the Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) for commercial applications in the UK. VRPs are a form of payments instruction that “allows… Read More

April 23, 2024 @ 9:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

According to PensionBee’s latest Pension Confidence Index, Brits feel more positive than negative about their retirement prospects, for the first time in six months. Positive pension sentiment has “surged in the last three months, with the Pension Confidence Indicator soaring to +22 in March 2024.”… Read More

April 22, 2024 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

The former PM of Italy, Enrico Letta, has released a report on how to improve the EU single market. The 147-page document, called “Much More Than a Market,” is a “call to action” to improve upon the single market and monetary union. Letta states that… Read More

April 22, 2024 @ 8:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Yael Selfin, Chief Economist at KPMG UK, says that inflation could soon “return to target, but risks remain.” Yael Selfin points out that the overall outlook for inflation “remains broadly positive, however there are several risks which could cause a setback.” Yael Selfin adds that Oil prices have… Read More

April 22, 2024 @ 8:25 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Manchester Digital has launched its new Manifesto for the Northern Tech Economy, in advance of the Greater Manchester Mayoral elections on 2nd May. They are calling on the new Mayor of Greater Manchester “to seize the opportunity to turbocharge the northern tech economy with the… Read More

April 22, 2024 @ 8:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Chris Pacey is said to have more than 20 years’ experience with deep technical knowledge of receivables and ABL products. Prior to joining ThinCats, Chris was working as Head of Relationship Management at ABN AMRO Commercial Finance. Chris will work alongside the ThinCats business development… Read More

April 22, 2024 @ 8:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The British Business Bank’s Investment Fund for Scotland has agreed £5 million of deals to support the growth of small businesses, just six months since the fund was launched to improve access to finance and provide a boost to the Scottish economy. The milestone comes… Read More

April 22, 2024 @ 8:20 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UK’s Allica Bank is pleased to share that their firm achieved their first full year of profitability in 2023. Just three years since Allica Bank opened their doors to lending, it makes them one of the fastest fintechs in the UK to do so, the… Read More

April 22, 2024 @ 6:58 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

The American Fintech Council, an industry association representing fintech companies, BaaS banks and credit unions, announced this week that Continental Finance has become its newest member. Continental Finance works to provide a variety of services to customers who have been long forgotten by traditional financial… Read More

April 21, 2024 @ 12:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Accenture Federal Services has entered into an agreement to acquire Cognosante, a mission-driven provider of digital transformation and cloud modernization solutions for federal health, defense, intelligence, and civilian agencies. Founded in 2008 by Michele Kang, Cognosante has grown “to become a trusted provider of innovative… Read More

April 21, 2024 @ 10:29 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Andreessen Horowitz has reportedly raised $7.2B for the following venture strategies: American Dynamism ($600M), Apps ($1B), Games ($600M), Infrastructure ($1.25B), and Growth ($3.75B). This marks an important milestone for the firm. When Marc and Ben Horowitz started the firm in 2009, the conventional wisdom in… Read More

April 21, 2024 @ 10:17 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A sense of optimism has pervaded financial markets in recent months, amid investor confidence that the fight against inflation is entering its “last mile” and that central banks will ease monetary policy in the coming months, according to a comprehensive update shared by the International… Read More

April 20, 2024 @ 6:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has opened registration for its fourth edition of the Investment Immersion Program (IIP) as from Wednesday, April 17, 2024 for six weeks. The program is an apprenticeship that aims “to employ and develop local investment professionals.” The program, which comprises… Read More

April 20, 2024 @ 5:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Austrian, French, Italian and Spanish financial market authorities have given their key priorities for a macro-prudential approach to asset management, the AMF noted in a recent update. As the European Commission prepares to launch its consultation on the macro-prudential treatment of risk in asset management,… Read More

April 20, 2024 @ 4:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement with Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) in order “to expand the scope of eligible exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under Stock Connect.” The eligibility criteria for ETFs… Read More

April 20, 2024 @ 10:20 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Framework Ventures says it has led a $10 million investment round in Uplink, a DePIN network with a goal to democratize access to the internet. Framework Ventures thinks their enterprise-focused approach is the best bet for onboarding the next wave of DePIN users. Uplink explaisn… Read More

April 18, 2024 @ 8:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

More than a third (36%) of senior leaders in the financial services sector use generative AI at least once a day at work, according to new research from KPMG UK. Of all senior professionals in the sector, CEOs are “the most frequent users (30%) of… Read More