More than 1,000 people are going to gather at the Insurtech Insights conference in London on June 19-20 to hear what over 240 speakers from a bunch of companies including more than 150 insurtechs have to say about how their firms use modern technologies in their business. Continue Reading
Category Archives: News
Big-scale forum on cryptos to be held in New York
New York City will host a conference on cryptocurrency investment on June 11-12 that is going to be an outstanding event for the range of issues it will address. Continue Reading
Sberbank launches versatile electronic brokerage platform for institutional clients
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank has launched a single electronic brokerage platform for institutional clients that gives them access to all key Russian and international floors for financial instrument trading. Continue Reading
Retirement Products and How They Work
Retirement products (like provident funds, pension funds and retirement annuities) all come with various benefits and restrictions, thus it is important to understand how they work so that you can choose the one that is right for you. Your investment return in retirement products comes from underlying investments such as unit trusts. These need time… Continue Reading
Individuals withdraw $479bn from Russia between 2016 and 2017 – Tranio, central bank
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian individuals withdrew $479bn from Russia between 2006 and 2017, taking the money to 257 foreign countries and territories, Russian real estate broker Tranio said, citing Russia’s central bank. Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Some of RenCap’s traditional products offer crypto market access – senior manager
By Andrei Skvarsky. Legislative gaps prevent Russians from pursuing full-scale cryptocurrency business, yet Russian banks have been finding legally safe ways of access to cryptocurrency markets in meeting growing client demand – Renaissance Capital, for one, sells traditional products that offer exposure to the crypto world. Continue Reading
BlockShow study: Switzerland Europe’s most cryptocurrency-friendly country
By Andrei Skvarsky. Switzerland is Europe’s most cryptocurrency- and blockchain-friendly country, according to a study carried out in the framework of BlockShow Europe 2018, a planned flagship conference on blockchain technology in Berlin on May 28-29. Continue Reading
BlockShow attendees to be able to use blockchain-based voting app
By Andrei Skvarsky. Those attending BlockShow Europe 2018, a planned conference on blockchain on May 28-29, will be able to use a blockchain-based application for voting to compile rankings of women executives and companies that have made outstanding achievements in blockchain development. Continue Reading
“Hypersmart contract” creator ORS hopes to raise nearly $30m via ICO
By Andrei Skvarsky. ORS Group, a software company that claims to have developed a modernised type of smart contract, the “hypersmart contract (HSC)”, by connecting artificial intelligence to blockchain, hopes to raise €25m ($29.5m) through a current initial coin offering (ICO). Continue Reading
FXPrimus accuses company of stealing its branding for ICO
By Andrei Skvarsky. Foreign exchange broker FXPrimus has accused a company that has “no association” with it is of unauthorised use of its branding for a planned initial coin offering (ICO). Continue Reading
Cross-border pension plan among matters to be discussed at Europe pension forum
European Union officials, bankers, lawyers, academics and others are getting together at a pan-European conference on May 17-18 to discuss developments in and plans for Europe’s pension industry. Continue Reading
Wikipedia co-founder Wales to address BlockShow Europe conference
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales will be among the more than 80 speakers addressing an anticipated audience of over 3,000 at BlockShow Europe 2018, a planned conference on blockchain on May 28-29, according to a statement from the BlockShow company, the forum’s organiser. Continue Reading
BlockShow Europe ticket price rising but EM.me readers still qualify for discount
As we warned in an article on March 30, tickets for BlockShow Europe 2018, a planned major conference in Berlin on May 28-29 on blockchain developments, are going up in price by 30 per cent as of April 26. Continue Reading
Renaissance Capital reports robust performance for 2017
By Andrei Skvarsky. Renaissance Capital, a Moscow-based privately owned investment bank focusing on emerging and frontier markets all over the world, has reported robust performance for 2017, including a year-on-year net profit increase of 43 per cent. Continue Reading
EU pension issues, risk and collateral management aspects to be discussed at forums
Various issues in the European pension industry, in risk management, and in collateral management will be addressed at conferences this May organised by event manager Global Leading Conferences (GLC). Continue Reading
Insurers to hold two key conferences in London in June
Insurance Nexus, a London-based research and event organisation company, is planning two key conferences on European insurance for June 2018, both of which will take place in London. Continue Reading
Cryptocurrencies, blockchain among subjects to be raised at Cbonds-organised forum in London
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain, which are the “in-thing” in financial markets across the world today, will be among numerous subjects to be raised at the VII Cbonds Emerging Markets Bond Conference in London on April 19-20, organised by St Petersburg-based financial information company Cbonds. Continue Reading
Russian investors warming to South Africa – govt agency
By Andrei Skvarsky. There is considerable and growing interest among Russian companies in investing in South Africa, according to a study based on surveys and cited by a South African government agency responsible for managing the country’s global reputation. Continue Reading
Sovcombank-Rosevrobank merger expected to create one of Russia’s top 3 private banks
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Sovcombank and Rosevrobank have agreed to merge in a deal that will bring into being what is expected to be one of Russia’s top three private banks by assets and capital. Continue Reading
Vienna training session looking at new Basel standards for banking book interest rate risk management
A current training session in Vienna is focusing on revised standards for banking book interest rate risk management as set out in paper D368 of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), which was published in April 2016. Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Russian banks probing crypto market in anticipation of green-light law – Sovcombank
By Andrei Skvarsky. As Russia’s government is drawing up legislation to allow crypto-currency transactions, Russian banks are exploring opportunities in the global crypto-currency market. Continue Reading
Russia’s Sberbank launches trading unit the size of a square in a small town
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank has launched a huge financial sales and trading unit fitted with cutting-edge technology in its headquarters in Moscow. Continue Reading
FXPrimus, trade.io launching app for checking financial trade data accuracy
By Andrei Skvarsky. Blockchain trading platform provider trade.io and financial broker FXPrimus are launching a blockchain-based application for financial traders to check whether data shown on their MetaTrader 4 (MT4) online trading platform has not been tampered with. Continue Reading
Russia’s Sberbank to buy, sell crypto-currency via Swiss subsidiary
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, is making arrangements to launch trade in crypto-currency via its Swiss subsidiary before mid-2018, a senior banker said on January 30. Continue Reading
Russia’s contradictory bill: crypto money to be allowed but rouble to remain ‘the sole legal tender’
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Finance Ministry has written a contradictory draft law on “digital financial assets” which would allow crypto-currencies to be used within Russia for making purchases but would declare that crypto money “shall not be a form of legal tender” within the country. Continue Reading
FXGeometry institute to show new financial trading assistance bot this week
By Andrei Skvarsky. FXGeometry, an institute running online financial trading courses, is due to show a new Facebook messenger chatbot at iFX EXPO Asia, a global financial business-to-business exhibition to be held in Hong Kong on January 23-25. Continue Reading
Investor buys Russian power stations to use them for crypto-currency mining
By Andrei Skvarsky. A Russian private investor has bought two comparatively small power stations in Russia to convert them into facilities for crypto-currency mining. Continue Reading
Russian finance minister beats colleagues by earning $1.42m for 2016 – declaration
By Andrei Skvarsky. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov declared total earnings of 95.44m roubles for 2016 ($1.42m at that year’s average market exchange rate), by far outdoing the other members of the Russian government who had their incomes for 2016 reported on the Finance Ministry website late last month. Continue Reading
Belarus legalises laissez-faire use of crypto-currencies as of March 2018
By Andrei Skvarsky. In an unexpectedly liberal move, the president of Belarus, a country with a state-controlled and largely Soviet-style economy, has issued a decree to give practically unlimited freedom for crypto-currency mining and transactions. Continue Reading