Driving the evolution of smart finance

Despite the massive slowdown that we have witnessed in recent months as a result of government reaction globally to the Covid-19 pandemic, suppliers around the world continue to benefit from access to good and inexpensive products and well established infrastructures for trade and trade finance.

Time and time again, correspondent banking has been reported dead as technology has advanced and we have moved into a brave new world. Time and time again, it has come back to life and demonstrated its enduring value.

The onward march of sustainability as a key element in corporate thinking and planning continues, accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.

In this article, we look back at 2020 and discuss the ramifications for the future of global trade. World trade and gross domestic product have traditionally grown in tandem, but the reactions of governments worldwide to the Covid-19 pandemic have defined a new normal. Serious questions are presenting themselves as to the extent that this new normal will drive...

As a treasurer, when you start to look at a vast continent like Asia, you have to realise that there is not one Asian market but many Asian markets that are already more or less interconnected between each other.

Cecile BARTENIEFF, COO and Head of IT & Operations for Societe Generale Global Banking & Investor Solutions (GBIS) took part in SIBOS’ November session round table about Privacy Enhancing Technologies (P.E.T).

Any would-be potential cyber-attacker who thinks that Covid-19 has created some kind of open season on high-end users of high-end technology systems really ought to think again, and go and lie down in a dark room until the urge to engage maliciously subsides. Client protection is very much at the top of our list of priorities and we work endlessly to ensure...

That is one of the striking features that emerges from a long-term examination of the payments industry, whether at a local, regional, national or international level.

During the Covid-19 crisis, resiliency, robust IT infrastructure and adoption of digital tools have become the foremost priorities for organisations. For the Trade Finance industry, it has definitely been an inflection point as the adoption of digital across the chain has been quite low.

The health crisis forced the whole world to dive headfirst into virtualisation and innovative technologies much faster than expected. Yvan Mirochnikoff, Head of digital solutions at Societe Generale Securities Services, shares his analysis of the finance industry and securities services in particular.

The creation, development and implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) is beginning to look inevitable. A growing number of major central banks around the world have now launched investigation and experimentation initiatives and it is surely only a matter of time before they achieve greater recognition, respectability and, essential for any...

Digitisation and data have been the mantra of trade finance experts and consultants for several years now. In this article we set out to address the central issues currently facing the data universe.

Innovation has always been a hot topic in the world of investment funds. It looks for operational efficiency with increased automation, new services, and better risk management. The client experience is an accelerator. Asset managers, the main clients of asset-servicing banks, are under strong cost pressure.

The Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) used in Blockchains has enabled the emergence of a new type of digital asset: cryptocurrencies, the first of which was the famous Bitcoin.

While the main challenge for bankers at the beginning of the century was to differentiate themselves from their competitors, it has evolved much further ever since. Today, they are expected to remain by their clients’ side in all circumstances, to support them on a daily basis.

Institutional investors have one topic on their mind when the climate issue is raised, which can be summed up in two words: environmental indicators. How do you implement them? What difficulties are encountered? When will a European standard be introduced?