Globally, Islamic finance has been making headways as it makes its presence felt. Many jurisdictions have offered Islamic finance as part of their banking system’s products and services. This is good progress. But Islamic finance should not be looked upon as a value proposition only for the Muslims. Islamic finance is for all. It incorporates universal concepts and values that cater to all and sundry. An important distinction that is worth reminding. Continue reading…

EU member states are preparing to implement new rules on cybersecurity that mean certain attacks need to be reported. Simon Creasey asks how businesses will be affected. In its 2016 Internet Security Threat Report, global cybersecurity consultancy Symantec revealed a scary series of statistics. Continue reading…

Introductory statement by Mr Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, and Mr Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main.
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Ten years ago this month, the world witnessed the first tremors of what we now think of as the Global Financial Crisis and the subsequent Great Recession. For the United States and many other countries, this would turn out to be the most painful economic period since the Great Depression.
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Nordea expects the global economy to grow by 3.6 per cent this year, 3.7 per cent in 2018 and 3.6 per cent in 2019, in a new forecast released today. The outlook for the advanced economies looks solid amid uncertainties surrounding Donald Trump’s economic policy, the Brexit negotiations, increasing geopolitical risks and financial market reactions to the expected tightening of monetary policy. Also Emerging Markets seem to be back on a more sustainable growth trajectory, says Helge J. Pedersen, Nordea’s Group Chief Economist. The outlook for the Nordic countries has improved further, and 2017 seems to be the strongest growth year for the region since 2010. Continue reading…

The former head of cybercrime at the National Crime Agency, Dr Jamie Saunders, talks to Jessica Titherington about why businesses must take up the fight against cyber criminals. Continue reading…

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the IFRS Foundation have announced a new cooperation agreement to foster long-term financial stability, enhance market discipline and further develop sharing of information.
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The Federal Reserve Board on Friday, 1 September, adopted a final rule to enhance financial stability by requiring U.S. global systemically important banking institutions (GSIBs) and the U.S. operations of foreign GSIBs to amend qualified financial contracts to prevent their immediate cancellation or termination if the firm enters bankruptcy or a resolution process.
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In August 2017 the  European Central Bank (ECB) published the paper ‘Home, safe home: cross-country monitoring framework for vulnerabilities in the residential real estate sector’. This paper proposes a framework for monitoring vulnerabilities related to the residential real estate sector in a cross-country context. The framework might be useful for complementing or cross-checking signals available from existing approaches.
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