By Belinda Inocco, Head of Private Client at ASK Partners
In recent years, the dominant theme in investment has been volatility, and 2025 is shaping up to be no different. With uncertainty expected to persist, investors are turning to innovative asset classes and new methods of deploying capital to navigate these uncharted territories.
Five ways Rachel Reeves can champion SMEs ahead of the Autumn Statement
By Douglas Grant, Managing Director at Conister Bank
As signs of economic recovery were beginning to appear this year, it’s crucial to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the support they need to flourish. SMEs are the backbone of our economy, driving innovation, creating jobs, and stimulating local communities. However, under Labour’s leadership so far, the rhetoric has been fiscal fearmongering as SMEs face the challenge of uncertainty that risks hindering rather than boosting their growth.
AI is set to transform financial services organisations, but many are behind the curve. Operations leaders are now recognising the shortfalls of not having access to the data they need and see the significant benefits that AI can bring. New research from ActiveOps, provider of AI-powered Decision Intelligence for service operations, has found that almost half (46%) of businesses are only just starting out with AI – signifying a demand for this transformative technology.
What do banks and fintechs need to do to get fraud-fighting systems up to scratch? Alex Kelly, Vice President of Product at Tribe Payments, outlines whether AI is ready to fight fraud.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer science fiction. It’s now reality – and depending on who you talk to, AI is either the biggest threat to humanity, or the next evolutionary step towards limitless opportunity. It’s radically transforming our lives as individuals and our societies in ways that were unthinkable just a few years ago.
By Jon Felce, Partner at Cooke, Young & Keidan LLP, a specialist commercial disputes firm based in the City of London
The last few years has witnessed the pandemic, the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel (and many other less publicised areas), and increasing political, economic and social uncertainty. Against that background, conducting business is perhaps fraught with more risk than has been the case in recent times. In these circumstances, parties legitimately have concerns about how they might protect themselves if things go wrong.
“Peress li ninsabu fi ħdan pajsaġġ finanzjarju li qed jevolvi b’rata mgħaġġla, ninsab eċċitati u determinat li nmexxi lill-Bank tagħna f’futur li jkompli jibni r-reputazzjoni tagħna, japprofondixxi l-fiduċja stabbilita fost il-partijiet interessati, u jmexxina lejn għoli bla paragun ta’ eċċellenza fis-servizz,” ikkummenta s-Sur David. Power Chief Executive Officer fil-BNF Bank.
Il-vjaġġ tal-BNF Bank s’issa kien ikkaratterizzat minn reżiljenza, innovazzjoni, u impenn lejn il-klijenti tiegħu, u huwa fuq din il-pedament li t-tim tal-BNF huwa impenjat li jibni l-kapitolu li jmiss tal-istorja ta’ suċċess tal-Bank.
The digital divide in cyber security is human. When we fail to acknowledge the reality of human behaviour, how people typically work, day to day, we risk undermining the progress of cybersecurity technologies and email is often the achilleas’ heel, according to Dave Adamson, CTO at Espria. According to the Mimecast state of email security 2023 report, phishing attempts soared by over 60% YoY.
Whilst collaboration tools like Teams and Slack are commonplace, they’re yet to universally replace email, which remains the primary way most businesses communicate internally and externally. Email is also a vulnerable target for cybercriminals due to its accessibility and the potential for human error. Consequently, email is an effective tool used by cybercriminals to spread spam, attempt phishing attacks and send attachments and links that automatically install malware on a user’s device.
The FCA has launched a review on the treatment of domestic Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), setting out issues that it will consider as part of their inquiry into banks and financial institutions to inform whether necessary action by the regulator is needed.
The FCA plans to review financial services firms, looking into the arrangements and processes they have in place when dealing with PEPs based in the UK, requiring the institutions under scrutiny to provide necessary information that is asked of them to prove compliance.
