Publications
Aug 17, 2018
The New Physics of Financial Services: Understanding how Artificial Intelligence is transforming the financial ecosystem , studies the strategic, operational, regulatory and societal implications of AI on the financial services industry, exploring six core sectors to bring clarity to this often sensationalised debate and help the industry look...
Aug 16, 2018
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) released a study detailing the effect ADB’s microfinance project have on reducing poverty of rural poor households and improvement of the socio-economic status of women in developing countries. Focus regions included, Bangladesh, Philippines and Uzbekistan. Three main objectives were outlined in the study included...
Aug 15, 2018
Americas Society/Council of the Americas and Florida International University present the MNC-SME Linkages in Latin America white paper focused on highlighting the link between MNC-SMEs in Latin American (LATAM) regions. According to the whitepaper, “Access to technology, technical assistance, and financial support can boost SMEs’ competitiveness...
Aug 13, 2018
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is now accepting applications for national bank charters from fintech companies active in the “business of banking.” The company must engage in the following: Receiving deposits Paying checks Lending money Comptroller of the Currency Joseph M. Otting stated, “The decision to consider applications...
Aug 06, 2018
The Asia Security Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) released a report outlining the leading principles for regulation of outsourcing for regulated securities. The report surveyed across jurisdictions from Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, UK and the USA. Nine leading principles from the report included: Prohibition of...
Aug 03, 2018
IFC and Mastercard have launched a research report providing insight into the case for Digital Financial Services (DFS) and financial projections from nine microfinance institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The four-year study includes a set of best practice financial modeling benchmarks that can be used as a valuable guide for financial...
Jul 31, 2018
The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) impact report on The State of the Small and Growing Business Sector (SGB), focuses on development services, donor funding and direct investments. Key insights centered around SGB investing and donor funding from the report include: Over 400 investment vehicles have launched in the past 10 years...
Jul 26, 2018
The Longitudinal Impact Study of Accion and Opportunity Fund Small Business Lending in the U.S. is a first-of-its-kind national, longitudinal, qualitative examination of social impact of small-dollar loans on household and family life, poverty alleviation, or community development. It reports on a nationwide cohort of 350 Accion and Opportunity...
Jul 24, 2018
Complex procedures and lengthy documentation are becoming a deterrent for United Arab Emirates (UAE) SMEs. Almost two-thirds of entrepreneurs, state banking as an issue. Opening a bank account can take new SMEs up to three months to open; a white paper report from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce states complex verification processes are also...
Jul 23, 2018
The vision of affordable lenders is that everyone should have access to affordable and appropriate credit, delivered in a fair, respectful and responsible way. Affordable lenders are typically social purpose lenders, such as responsible finance providers and credit unions. A known barrier to financial inclusion is the credit scoring approaches...