Garanti Bank sold the first gender-linked bond from an emerging market issuer this year, and the Turkish bank is optimistic that the popularity of the socially conscious financing tool is due to grow.

Another African corporate turns to the LSE – West Africa’s first local currency bond lists in Ghanaian cedi.

Kuwait has been reclassified as a secondary emerging market by the FTSE Global Equity Index, an upgrade from unclassified that is expected to bring up to US$1bn of foreign investment into the country. 

Following Brexit, the UK may need to sever ties with the European Investment Bank (EIB). But what will that mean for businesses that currently receive essential EIB financing?

A pioneering block chain-based bond issue by the World Bank uses blockchain-based ‘smart contracts’.

Luxembourg has created what it calls the first law globally to establish a green covered bond, as regulation around environmentally responsible investing continues become more refined and definitions standardised. 

Comprising data scientists and mathematicians, the new team will be tasked with incorporating artificial intelligence into SmartStream’s solutions. 

As climate change analysis grows in importance, the data analytics startup has secured a CHF 1.7 million investment and appears well positioned for success. 

An important innovation in cross-border payments brought new transparency and real-time reference to transactions long overdue and much needed.   

Jacco De Jong and Sunil Senapati join the company at a time of expansion, with ever more global clients seeking to digitise their paper processes.

Banking the unbanked isn’t possible without the right underlying architecture. In a recent workshop, BankservAfrica highlighted how various African countries are redesigning their payments systems.  

Large technology companies are “well placed” to disrupt parts of banking in the long term, though lending and depository activities in the West look to be shielded for now, according to a report from S&P Global Ratings.