Toma nota.../Take note...

It is becoming increasingly clear that the role of risk management and security must be elevated throughout the financial services and banking markets. More and more financial institutions are focusing their efforts on both physical and cyber security. Modern technology has resulted in a society that is always connected, but this might be a problem for the banking industry. Modern technology has resulted in a society that is always connected. However, the weight of a humongous number of users can be overwhelming and extremely burdensome for many banks and cause a serious crisis."  

Tech’s raid on the banks

May 2.– Over the past two decades people across the world have seen digital services transform the economy and their lives. Taxis, films, novels, noodles, doctors and dog-walkers can all be summoned with a tap of a screen. Giant firms in retailing, carmaking and the media have been humbled by new competitors. Yet one industry has withstood the tumult: banking. In rich countries it is perfectly normal to queue in branches, correspond with your bank by post and deposit cheques stamped with the logo of firms founded in the 19th century.

Yet, as our special report this week explains, technology is at last shaking up banking. In Asia payment apps are a way of life for over 1bn users. In the West mobile banking is reaching critical mass—49% of Americans bank on their phones—and tech giants are muscling in. Apple unveiled a credit card with Goldman Sachs on March 25th. Facebook is proposing a payments service to let users buy tickets and settle bills (see article).

El cambio climático es una evidente amenaza para la economía de muchos países debido a los desastres naturales que provoca, afectando las variables macroeconómicas y los resultados de las empresas. Por eso, ¿cómo abordar el riesgo climático y la continuidad de los negocios, desde la perspectiva de la gestión del portafolio en una institución financiera?, es una pregunta pertinente en los últimos tiempos. Para algunos, el cambio climático es una posición política, para otros es un concepto demasiado abstracto. Sin embargo, el riesgo climático es más fácil de aproximar si se relaciona con los activos abandonados (stranded assets), la continuidad de las operaciones, y la infraestructura sostenible. Otra forma de acercarnos al riesgo climático es observando cómo afecta al turismo. El Banco de España está reconociendo estos parámetros, como lo indica la inquietud de su subgobernadora en el reportaje siguiente."

Los riesgos del cambio climático afectan directamente a las entidades de crédito

Madrid, Mar. 20.– Según advierte la subgobernadora del Banco de España, Margarita Delgado, "estos riesgos inciden directamente en la valoración de algunos de los activos presentes en los balances bancarios. Por otro, tienen consecuencias macroeconómicas que, evidentemente, afectan igualmente a dichos balances. En cualquiera de los dos casos, la solvencia de las entidades bajo nuestra supervisión se podría ver afectada por procesos que, como supervisores, debemos monitorizar".

En un discurso reciente, Margarita Delgado ha definido al Banco de España "como uno de los garantes de la estabilidad financiera" y ha resaltado que debe contribuir a fomentar la correcta valoración de dichos riesgos, así como la mitigación de sus efectos financieros, por parte de las entidades.

La nueva tendencia hacia lo ecológico en todo todo tipo de consumo ya es una realidad y la movilidad eléctrica está ganado terreno a los métodos más tradicionales de desplazamiento como el automóvil a diésel y gasolina."

Marzo 14.– Esta tendencia hacia lo ecológico es una gran noticia para el medio ambiente. Además, hay una conciencia cada vez mayor de lo ineficiente y perjudicial que resulta para todos hacer trayectos en automóvil solos y sin pasajeros.

¿Cuáles son los principales perjuicios relacionados con el uso excesivo del automóvil?

Estonia and Moldova have similar origins, but could not be more different. Both declared independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991. Both tiny countries have big Russian minorities, and both have struggled with emigration and shrinking populations. Yet where Estonia has joined the EU, become an IT hub and is virtually corruption-free, Moldova struggles with corruption and its citizens are five times poorer than Estonia’s. Was Estonia’s fortune down to luck or good choices?

Moldova and Estonia show how different democracies can be

One post-Soviet country defeated corruption, the other is still battling it

Chisinay and Tallinn, Feb.28.– Kaja Kallas, a former competition lawyer and member of the European Parliament, is just the sort of businesslike politician one expects in Estonia. She took over as leader of Estonia’s liberal Reform Party last year; polls show it in a dead heat with the ruling Centre Party. She has run a technocratic campaign, focusing on education and tax policy. But she loses her cool when she talks about EKRE, Estonia’s anti-immigrant, Eurosceptic populist party. “They want to destroy everything,” she says: all the institutions that have made her open, tech-savvy nation more successful than “other countries that had the same starting-point. Take Moldova, for example.”

Indeed, take Moldova. Like Estonia, it declared independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991. Both tiny countries have big Russian minorities, and both have struggled with emigration and shrinking populations. Yet in many ways they are polar opposites.