December 2019 - CFI.co Blog

Despite growing mistrust in the banking industry since the 2008 financial crash, we remain steadfastly loyal to our personal banks. So loyal that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that, in 2016, only 3% of UK residents switched banks. While that doesn’t reveal how many people have multiple bank accounts, it may well suggest that we’re not looking at our banking activities strategically. Having a single bank account makes things simple on the face of it. But is it sensible?

With the financial crash, which included the failure of Northern Rock, and the increase in cybercrime, we know that putting all our eggs in one basket is a bad idea. But there are a variety of reasons why it’s sensible to have multiple bank accounts.

In the UK and across Europe, many bank accounts are free, making opening a new one easy. No matter where you’re located though, having over one bank account could have huge benefits for your finances.

Want to know why? Keep reading and we’ll break it down.

Protect Your Money

Spreading the risk is one of the most sensible things you can do with investing and the same goes for storing your hard-earned money. If you have just one bank account, you leave yourself open to serious problems.

If your financial institution fails, you may lose access to the money you’ve stored with them. While it seems unlikely, the banking industry is changing at a rapid rate and instability can happen, even as stricter regulations are in the works.

Bank Failure

In the UK, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects your money if a British bank fails. However, they will only protect your finances up to £85,000 in each financial institution.

A financial institution is an entire corporation rather than individual banks. For example, if you have £100,000 in Natwest and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) fails, you’ll only be protected for £85,000 as Natwest is owned by RBS.

If you have split your £100,000 between two accounts, one with Natwest and one with RBS, you will still only get protection on £85,000. This is one reason you do not only need more than one bank account, but you should spread accounts across different parent financial institutions.

Cybercrime

Cybercrime is becoming more prevalent around the world, putting banks and your money at risk. In 2017, a major cyber-attack caused havoc with multiple banking systems across the UK. There’s a continued risk of this happening again which means you’re at risk of not being able to access your money when you need it.

If a cyber-attack affects the operating of your bank, when you have a second account with a separate bank, you’ll still have access to some of your money.

Going Abroad

Have you ever had your card blocked by your bank when you’re away? Fraud teams prefer to be safe than sorry and you may well find yourself without access to your account at some point.

By having more than one bank account, you can use your second account if your first is blocked by a fraud team.

Manage a Budget

The average household debt in the UK is over £15,000 and the figures are worse in the US, where the average individual’s debt is $38,000 (£29,000). One thing is clear, we need to be budgeting more effectively.

With one bank account, all of your income and outgoings are lumped in together. This makes it difficult to manage money for different outgoings and to save proactively.

When you have multiple bank accounts, you can use one for day-to-day spending and others for separate purposes. This includes savings, mortgage or rent payments, self-employed tax, and whichever purposes suit your life.

It’s easy to move money from one bank to another, allowing you to move money into savings the moment you get paid.

Savings Accounts and ISAs

Savings accounts and ISAs often have far better interest rates than current accounts, allowing you to make money and benefit from tax-free interest. It’s wise to have designated savings accounts that you move money into and don’t use as day-to-day spending money.

Even saving small amounts has a compound effect as you’ll earn interest on the full balance, including previous interest payments. Keeping this savings money separate from your usual current accounts stops you from seeing it easily and being tempted to spend it.

Multiple Currencies

It’s increasingly easier to open bank accounts in other currencies. Having a Euro bank account, for instance, means you avoid foreign transaction fees and variable exchange rates.

It also means you can withdraw money easily in Euro countries from ATMs without facing charges.

Separating Personal and Business Accounts

If you run a business, even as a sole proprietor, keeping your personal and business finances separate will make your life easier. You’ll get a better picture of how well your business is doing and can keep track of payments and outgoings more easily.

Some business accounts also come with added benefits such as free business advice or discounted business products.

Joint Accounts

If you share outgoings with a partner, having a joint account can help you manage your shared responsibilities. If you jointly pay a mortgage or rent, utilities, and subscriptions, you can store this money each month in your joint account and create direct debits to pay out.

This is a useful way of separating joint expenditure from your personal finances. This can also offer a small amount of financial protection in the event of the death of an unmarried partner. On the death of one joint account holder, the account will automatically belong to the surviving account holder regardless of marital status.

Stay Safe with Multiple Bank Accounts

There are many benefits of having multiple bank accounts and having only one puts your money at risk. Having more than one account helps protect your money from bank instability and cyber attacks, enabling you to access part of your wealth.

It’s also helpful for travelling abroad and saving for your future. You can take advantage of better interest rates, separate savings from everyday spending, and see business finances clearly.

To learn more about the global financial world and keep on top of news, check out our Editor’s Picks.

Banking

UnionBank’s ‘Tech Up, Pilipinas’ drive resonates at Singapore Fintech Festival

ByCFI.co Blogger

Only Phl banking exhibitor since 2018 draws VIPs

*Visitors are drawn to the two-story UnionBank booth that highlighted revolutionary and socially relevant digital innovations.*

Still the lone Philippine banking institution participating at the annual Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) held at the Singapore Expo last week, Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) again established a powerful presence on the world stage worthy of the visit of well-known dignitaries, the prime minister of Singapore included.

Replicating its success on its global debut at the SFF last year, UnionBank – thrice honored by Asiamoney as the Philippines’ Best Digital Bank since 2017 – bannered its suite of emerging technologies, along with those of its fintech and thrift subsidiaries UBX and CitySavings, consistent with its relentless drive to extend more affordable and accessible financial services to all Filipinos here and abroad.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong chats with UnionBank chairman Justo Ortiz as he made a stop at the UnionBank exhibition – the first booth he visited at the SFF. With them are UnionBank president and CEO Edwin Bautista, UBX president and CEO John Januszczak, Platform Development head Ramon Duarte, Human Resource head Michelle Rubio, Transaction Banking head John Cary Ong and Fintech Business Group head Arvie de Vera.

No less than the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, together with Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Ravi Menon, graced the booth frequented by curious visitors intently asking about the bank’s cutting-edge digital products and platforms and how it benefits the common man. UnionBank has partnerships with OCBC Bank Singapore to pioneer remittance services from the city-state to the Philippines through blockchain-based platforms, and with the MAS for its SME marketplace Business Sans Borders (BSB) that is seen to empower local SMEs to explore and expand internationally.

UnionBank president and CEO Edwin Bautista and chairman Justo Ortiz explained how, through the bank’s comprehensive strategy called “Tech Up, Pilipinas,” it is utilizing technology to promote financial inclusion for sustainable prosperity, particularly of the unbanked and the underserved, who compose around half of the Philippines’ 108 million population. Financial inclusion is a vital component for the realization of the Philippines’ vision to become a G20 country by 2050.

Other dignitaries who visited the UnionBank booth were Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Joseph Del Mar Yap and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Govenor Benjamin Diokno, who looked visibly proud of the Filipino ingenuity as he was toured inside the booth by Bautista. The central bank chief thanked UnionBank for raising the Philippine flag at what is dubbed as the biggest fintech summit gathering global innovation and business leaders. Bautista, in turn, said UnionBank’s remarkable showing at the SFF is a testament to its commitment to remain agile and a frontrunner in this digital revolution.

Wealth Management

Prepare Them For The Future: 5 Unique Ways To Teach Kids About Money

ByCFI.co

Did you know that 62% of parents give their kids an allowance?

But it’s not enough to just hand your kids money. You need to teach them the value of a dollar and how to spend it.

Teaching kids about money doesn’t have to be hard. Money is one of the greatest stressors for adults. But if you can teach your kids early how to budget, you can save them a lot of heartache later on.

This article will give you 5 ways to teach your kids about money.

1. Match Allowance to Chores

Don’t start giving your children money until they’re old enough to do chores.

If you give your child an allowance when they’re very young for doing nothing, they’ll question why they have to work for their money later on.

When your child is old enough to do housework, be sure to match the money you give to the work they do.

For instance, offer a certain amount for each chose. Vacuuming could be one dollar, washing the dishes could be two dollars.

It’s important to break down the value of each piece of work they do. This will teach them how labor gets exchanged for money.

Make a chore chart so they know what they’re in charge of each day. Set a “payday” on Fridays so they have money to spend over the weekend.

This traditional work schedule will get them used to waiting for their money and spending it wisely. If they don’t do their chores, don’t cave and give them the allowance anyway. This isn’t how money works in the real world and you’ll be sending them the wrong message about hard work.

2. Make Them Pitch In

There is no way your seven-year-old can pay for every toy they want.

But this doesn’t mean they can’t pitch in a portion. When your child asks for a major game or toy, always make them pay for a small portion.

Even if it only takes them saving their allowance for two weeks, this simple act will make them value the toy more.

if you constantly give your child toys without them having to do any work, they won’t appreciate them. The toys will become something they’re entitled to rather than something they had to work for.

3. Talk About What You’re Buying

Your kids are always listening to you.

They hear you talk to your spouse about big purchases coming up. Next time you buy something large, include your child in the conversation.

Explain to them how long it took you to save up for that item. This way, when a brand new minican arrives in your garage, your child doesn’t think it got there by magic. They will start to understand that all those days you go off to work, you were earning the minivan.

Talk about how long it will take to pay off the minivan if you haven’t already.

When you go to an ATM, tell your child how much money you’re taking out. Don’t make the process of withdrawing money look easy.

4. Cook More Meals

Eating out every night and buying your child food from the drive-thru sets the wrong precedent.

It teaches your child that food comes easily and that it’s accessible when you want it. Your child will have no framework for how much it really costs to feed themselves.

Instead, focus on cooking the meals you put on the dinner table.

Take your child to the grocery store with you and get the ingredients to make the food he or she loves to eat a restaurant.

For instance, if her favorite restaurant food is a burger and fries, then go to the store and buy those ingredients. Add up how much each ingredient costs together and compare that number with how much you would have spent at the restaurant.

You’ll notice that getting food in the grocery store is far less expensive- and your child will too.

Then take the ingredients home and cook together. This will teach your child the importance of working for the food they ear.

5. Use a Clear Piggy Bank

As an adult, you know what to look for in a bank, but your child doesn’t

Sure, traditional piggy banks are cute. But they’re also impossible to see in without opening them.

You want your child to store their money in a clear receptacle so that they can see how much is in there.

This will help them understand the process of earning and saving money. They can visually see how much further they have until their goal.

A good practice is to teach them to wait until the piggy bank is full before spending the money. Maybe offer them a couple of bonus dollars if they keep the money in the piggy bank long enough. Think of this as teaching them how interest works.

So Now You Know The Importance of Teaching Kids About Money

Remember, teaching kids about money is crucial to their success later on.

High school courses don’t often cover important topics like how to spend money, and once your kid is in college it will be too late.

You want them to be smart about earning money early so they don’t make mistakes later on.

On the flip side, remember that your child is still a child. Don’t overstress them about money issues that you’re having. It’s important they know how the world works, but they shouldn’t be so worried about finances that they can’t sleep at night. They’ll have the rest of their lives to worry.

Wondering the best adult bank to save your money? Check out our advice here.

Banking

Don’t Gamble With Your Future: Why Everyone Needs a Financial Advisor

ByCFI.co

50% of Americans don’t have anything saved for their retirement. Another 34% have nothing in their savings account at all. Part of this problem is the inability to understand personal finance and planning. A financial advisor is trained and experienced in the art of how to save and use your money.

Personal financial planners help everyone from recent graduates to those trying to save for their retirement. While they aren’t free, the money they can potentially save you, in the long run, is worth their advice.

Keep reading to learn more about planning your future and why you need a financial advisor.

Ignoring Your Finances Will Not Make Them Better

Besides the obvious fact that ignoring your finances will not make them better, it will also negatively affect your well-being. One study found that how you perceive items like your current financial situation as well as how well you’ve planned for the future, affects your well-being. These perceptions about your financial state impact everything from your job satisfaction to your physical health.

Needless to say, then, if your finances aren’t in order, the idea of going through them is probably scary. And that’s especially true if you know you’re in a lot of debt, but you’re not sure how much (or how to get out of it).

The solution to that problem is not to ignore the issue but to tackle it before things get even worse. If you don’t know where to start, that’s where a financial advisor comes in.

More Money

Tackling your money problems with a financial advisor leads us to the next reason you should consult a financial advisor. That is, a financial adviser might actually be able to put more money in your pocket.

Financial advisors help you accomplish this in three ways:

They help you manage your income more effectively.
They help increase your cash flow through tax planning, expenditure monitoring, and careful budgeting.
They increase your capital by increasing cash flow for potential investments

Overcoming Personal Biases

The benefit of managing your own money is how much you save. But the main disadvantage of having sole insight into your finances is that you have personal biases that are difficult to overcome.

Your biases impact your decisions, and that includes important financial ones. For example, people who lost money in the tech bubble in 2000 might be reluctant to reinvest in this sector, even if the potential for return is great. A financial planner can help you overcome those personal barriers.

At the same time, a financial advisor can help guide you through difficult financial situations wherein your emotions can get the best of you. If you’ve invested in the stock market, for example, a steep decline in the market may lead you to panic where a financial planner knows when to stay calm. With their experience, you can make logical and reasonable decisions with your money even throughout tough financial times.

A Trustworthy Relationship

You can – and should – trust your financial advisor. These are professionals who have taken a fiduciary oath. That is, they are legally bound to putting your needs before their own.

Some financial advisors are also C.F.P. board certified. This certification indicates that your financial advisor follows a certain level of competency standards set by the Certified Financial Planner Board.

A Financial Planner Can Help You Achieve Long Term and Short Term Goals

Financial planners do exactly what their name indicates: they help you plan your finances for both the long and short term. If you, like most people, struggle to set, prioritize and reach your financial goals, a financial planner will show you how to reach your long and short term goals.

In the long term, a financial advisor can assist with paying off student loans, maximizing your 401k, or becoming consumer debt-free. In the short term, a financial planner helps with building emergency funds, paying for a wedding, or buying your first property.

Plus, you’ll learn from your financial advisor and the plan they help you build. When you help create a financial plan, you follow it closely, and you reap the results, you’re perspective on controlling your finances is likely to change.

Professional Advice and Knowledge

Let’s be honest, you might know how to set up your online bank, you might even have tried your hand at playing the stock market, but you’re not an educated, certified, or experienced financial professional. A financial advisor has the credentials to handle all of the nuances of your finances and to find things that you’re likely to overlook.

A financial advisor will take an unbiased and holistic look at your finances and offer advice on where you can improve your savings and cash flow. But they can also help you with more complicated financial items like taxation, estate planning, and how to handle your debt.

Keep in mind, too, those finances are dynamic. They’re impacted by volatile markets and economic cotexts that grow and change. Your financial advisor helps you plan for those transitions and changes – and for the ones in your own life (i.e. retirement, career changes, etc.).

More Advice Than a Financial Advisor

Visiting a financial advisor is a good idea at all stages of life, regardless of your financial situation. Whether you’re ready to start saving for retirement, you’ve just graduated from college, or you’re preparing to buy your first property, a financial advisor can help you achieve those goals.

While the cost of a financial advisor is a hindrance for some people, a financial advisor can actually help put more money in your pocket. They can show you how to better use your income, ultimately increasing your cash flow and your capital.

But for even more advice than a financial advisor can give you, check out our financial advice blog. It’s full of all the financial information one could need.

Wealth Management

Don’t Wait Until You’re Older. Start Saving For Retirement Now

ByCFI.co

Saving for retirement is so stressful when you feel like it’s all you can do to make it to the next paycheck. With more than half the American public feeling like they’re behind on their retirement planning, that’s a lot of stressing out!

In the following article, we’re going to address what you can do to turn the tide. But first, let’s look at the obstacles that are keeping you from it.

Why You’re Not Saving

Saving is easy once you get started doing it. But it can be very difficult taking the first step. This is usually due to us believing certain falsehoods we’re about to get into, but also could be due to some seemingly legitimate reasons.

Not Enough Income

Living paycheck to paycheck is an unfortunate reality for millions of people. If it’s all gone by the time the next check comes around, how could you possibly find enough wiggle room to put back for your retirement?

Failing to Track Your Spending

Some families don’t make enough money. That’s indisputable. But a large number of us also spend more than we intend to by failing to scrutinize the things we’re buying with meaningful detail.

Convincing Yourself You Cannot Afford It

Sometimes you can afford more than you think but you’re so downtrodden from the feeling of not getting ahead that you fail to realize the opportunities. We’re going to say something crazy here, but it’s true. You can always afford to save something.

Spending Therapy

This is one a lot of us have been guilty of. We’re so dejected by the lack of extra money each pay period that we get fed up with never having the chance to enjoy life and end up spending more than we should, thanks to weak sales resistance, a lack of willpower, and a little plastic.

Now you know the behaviors and situations that are causing the drama. It’s time that we looked at some solutions for what to do about it. Follow as many of these as you can, and you’ll have a retirement account before you know it.

1. Design the Lifestyle You Want

Before considering a savings account or any other financial instrument, get your goals in order. Don’t obsess over the harsh reality. Picture where you want to be.

What is a realistic lifestyle you would like to have if you were to ever pay your way out of debt? What does fiscally responsible behavior look like and how does it balance with what you like to buy or do?

2. Assess Where You Are

Still not quite ready for the retirement account. Instead, it’s time to assess where you are. And we mean where you truly are.

Go over your ongoing expenses with a fine-toothed comb. Account for every dollar you make. Compare the two to see how much discretionary income you have (or how much more you’ll need to earn).

3. Start Small

The smart saving habits have nothing to do with volume. Few people ever get rich overnight. They do it by incremental savings over time, thanks in part to the concept of compounding interest.

Enjoying any of that, however, requires that you save something, even if it’s just one percent of what you make. Get comfortable saving before upping the ante.

4. Know When to Get More Aggressive

Another important thing to learn when investing money wisely is that there will come a time when you can and should be more aggressive. Many analysts suggest taking the risk on more volatile investments (like emerging markets) when you’re in your 20s, for instance. Then, work in more conservative investments the closer you get to retirement.

That’s ideal. But it may not be for everyone. People who start late and are trying to catch up to their retirement number, namely.

The point: there’s a time to be aggressive and a time to be conservative in your investment decisions. Learn when those times are for you.

5. Choose the Right Financial Instruments

There are many retirement accounts and investment options to choose from. Employees often have the option of saving pre-tax dollars through a 401k. Self-employed individuals prefer the Roth IRA, which can be withdrawn at retirement tax-free.

You also might consider round-up accounts that go up to the nearest whole dollar and are tied to your debit card transactions. For every purchase you make, whatever change gets you to the next whole dollar goes into an investment portfolio.

6. Target the Amount You Will Need to Retire Comfortably

Use a retirement calculator to gauge how much money you’re going to need for retirement. From there, play with the numbers to see how aggressive you need to be in your savings for where you are at this moment in life.

7. Make More Money

Easier said than done, right? Not necessarily. The Internet has opened up a plethora of ways we can use our existing talents to make extra money on the side.

If you do start a side gig, however, make sure you hold out 30 percent for tax purposes. That’s considered self-employment money, so you won’t have an employer to pay half of your Social Security and Medicaid costs.

8. Cut Unnecessary Expenses

Are there any entertainment subscriptions you can live without? What about meals and coffees out?

Scrutinizing your spending will highlight opportunities to reduce your output. It won’t solve all your problems, but it will free up some money to go into a retirement account.

9. Capitalize on Your Benefit Offerings

This isn’t for everyone. But if you do work with an employer that offers a 401k with matching, take advantage of it. That’s like getting double for each contribution you make, up to three or five percent anyway.

10. Invest in Life Insurance

We recommend this because a) some life insurance builds cash value that can be withdrawn or borrowed against, and b) it will leave your family with options in the event something happens to you and you haven’t saved any money for retirement or unexpected expenses.

Yes, insurance is an ongoing expense. But it also provides you with enough peace of mind to not be discouraged when your retirement planning falls behind.

11. Enjoy Your Money When You Can

You can’t take it with you, and you’re only young once. Take advantage of a healthy mind and body by finding some room to enjoy your money when you can. Do it without feeling guilty, too.

Saving for Retirement Doesn’t Have to Be a Chore

Saving for retirement can be gratifying when you see those small contributions start to add up. Whatever you do, don’t be discouraged by a lack of progress. Start saving whatever you can now, and you won’t regret it.

Good luck! And if you’d like any help with retirement questions or other financial advice, try our Letters to the Editor feature today.

Politics

EIT scales up support for innovators across Europe in 2020

ByCFI.co Blogger

In 2020, the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) will invest EUR 500 million in its Knowledge and Innovation Communities across Europe – the EIT Governing Board decided. This investment will drive European innovation in the areas of climate (EIT Climate-KIC), digitisation (EIT Digital), food (EIT Food), health (EIT Health), sustainable energy (EIT InnoEnergy), advanced and sustainable materials (EIT RawMaterials), manufacturing (EIT Manufacturing) and urban mobility (EIT Urban Mobility).

The EIT’s eight Knowledge and Innovation Communities competed for EUR 500 million and were evaluated against their strategies and business plans for 2020, as well as their performance to date. Based on this, the EIT Governing Board decided to allocate the following grants (in order of their selection in 2009, 2014, 2016, and 2018*):

EIT Climate-KIC: EUR 78.4 million

EIT Digital: EUR 66.2 million

EIT InnoEnergy: EUR 77.8 million

EIT Health: EUR 85.1 million

EIT Raw Materials: EUR 81.7 million

EIT Food: EUR 55.1 million

EIT Manufacturing: EUR 26.8 million

EIT Urban Mobility: EUR 28.8 million

In addition, the EIT Governing Board also decided to allocate EUR 30 million to the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (EIT RIS) – the programme that helps modest and moderate regions (according to the European Innovation Scoreboard) to fully realise their innovation potential through the sharing of good practice and experience from across the EIT Community. The EIT RIS fund will be available to all EIT Innovation Communities that include EIT RIS eligible activities in their 2020 Business Plans. The EIT Governing Board also decided to allocate EUR 12.5 million for joint activities between Knowledge and Innovation Communities, as for example in the areas of artificial intelligence and Skills 4 Future.

In addition, the EIT Governing Board put in place a Task Force on enhancing innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education institutions, in preparation for the EIT’s role in Horizon Europe. The Task Force will be chaired by Patrick Prendergast, Member of the EIT Governing Board, and will include representatives of the European Commission (DG EAC).

Dirk Jan van den Berg, Chairman of the EIT Governing Board, said: ‘I am very pleased to see the progress in the past year, which is strongly based on the focused stewardship of the EIT’s Governing Board. It is crucial that the opportunities the EIT community offers innovators are scaled-up across the whole of Europe. Why? This investment is not just to create another product, or power another start-up; it’s to bring about the urgent need for more innovative European solutions at a much larger scale to tackle pressing societal challenges.’

Martin Kern, EIT Director, added: ‘The EIT is now Europe’s proven innovation engine and 2020 will see strong impact from our eight Knowledge and Innovation Communities, based on their submitted plans. Our results clearly show that the EIT’s investment delivers and turns ground-breaking ideas into products and services for a greener, healthier, more sustainable Europe. We particularly look forward to scaling up our support for innovators and entrepreneurs in countries where EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities have a limited presence. I would like to thank the EIT Governing Board Members for their strong strategic steering of the EIT community.‘

Investing in what works

The 2020 funding will step up activities for entrepreneurs, innovators, and students, including business creation and acceleration services, entrepreneurial educational programmes and innovation-driven research projects. These activities have been shown to work, delivering tangible impact for Europe. In 2020, the EIT Community plans to power 1000 start-ups and scale-ups and launch more than 360 new products and services to contribute to Europe’s efforts of tackling global challenges. More than 900 students are expected to graduate from EIT labelled master and doctoral programmes, strengthening the pool of talented and entrepreneurially-minded change agents eager to transform their best ideas into solutions for Europe. It is foreseen that in 2020 alone, ventures supported by the EIT-Community will raise over EUR 400 million in external capital.

Since the EIT was set up in 2008, it has created Europe’s largest innovation community, with more than 1 000 partners and 50 innovation hubs. This has delivered support to more than 2 000 start-ups and scale-ups, created more than 6 100 jobs and more than 900 new products and services. More than 2200 students have graduated from EIT-labelled master and doctoral programmes. To date, EIT-supported ventures have raised more than EUR 1.5 billion in external capital.

EIT BACKGROUND: Europe’s future is connected to its power to innovate!

What is the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)? The EIT was created in 2008 to strengthen Europe’s ability to innovate and is an integral part of Horizon2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The EIT is a unique EU initiative, the only one to fully integrate business, education and research. The Institute supports the development of dynamic pan-European partnerships among leading universities, research labs and companies. (EIT in a nutshell Infographic)

What has the EIT Community achieved? EIT Community Success Stories

What is the EIT Governing Board? The Governing Board is the EIT’s principal governing body, entrusted with the strategic leadership and overall direction of the operational activities implemented by the EIT Headquarters in Budapest. The Governing Board brings together 12 leading Members from across Europe, balancing prominent expertise in business, education, innovation and research fields.

What challenges do the EIT’s Knowledge and Innovation Communities focus on? EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities work in the area of:

Climate: accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon economy, EIT Climate-KIC,

Digitisation: driving Europe’s digital transformation, EIT Digital,

Energy: achieving a sustainable energy future for Europe, EIT InnoEnergy,

Health: giving EU citizens greater opportunities to enjoy a healthy life, EIT Health,

RawMaterials: developing advanced & sustainable materials for Europe, EIT RawMaterials,

Food: leading the global revolution in food innovation and production, EIT Food,

Urban mobility: solving mobility challenges of our cities, EIT Urban Mobility, and

Manufacturing: strengthen the competitiveness of the EU’s manufacturing industry, EIT Manufacturing.

They offer a wide range of innovation and entrepreneurship activities. This includes education courses that combine technical skills with entrepreneurial ones, business creation and acceleration services, and innovation-driven research projects.

*The Knowledge and Innovation Communities have a lifespan of 7-15 years. During this time EIT funding is in principle gradually increasing until year seven and starts to decrease thereafter.

More information on EIT Community activities.

The EIT – Making Innovation Happen! For more information visit eit.europa.eu & follow @EITeu on Twitter

Finance

Snow Software Acquires Embotics

ByCFI.co Blogger

Snow fortifies its ability to deliver complete technology intelligence with Embotics’ award-winning hybrid cloud management platform

UK – Dec. 4, 2019 – Snow Software, the global leader in technology intelligence solutions, today announced it has acquired Embotics, a hybrid cloud management company. This acquisition brings together two market leaders, enabling CIOs to understand and manage their full technology stack from software and hardware to infrastructure and applications, regardless of whether they live on-premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid environment.

Embotics offers a platform-neutral cloud management solution with one of the quickest time-to-value in the industry. It provides a fast and easy way to automate provisioning, reduce costs and ensure governance across private, public, hybrid and multicloud environments. Leading enterprises such as Nordstrom, NASA and HBO, and service providers like LG CNS and NTT Data, use Embotics to drive their digital transformation.

“The rapid adoption of hybrid cloud by the enterprise has created new challenges for technology and business leaders who must maximise the efficacy and efficiency of technology without sacrificing innovation, productivity or security,”said Vishal Rao, President and CEO of Snow. “Technology intelligence is the future of asset and cloud management, moving beyond the silos created by point tools to provide the insight and manageability organisations need to gain a competitive edge. Embotics is a highly strategic addition to Snow’s portfolio. We are thrilled to welcome the team to Snow and deliver even greater value to our customers and partners.”

“We built Embotics to provide enterprises and service providers with an easier, faster, platform-neutral and fully integrated solution for managing the hybrid cloud and beyond”said Jay Litkey, Founder and President of Embotics. “Today, these organisations are strategically blending on-premises, private, public and multicloud architectures, and that requires a flexible and multi-faceted approach to gain agility through automation while controlling costs and risks. By joining forces with Snow, Embotics will continue to address these issues and answer the next generation of challenges with integrated capabilities at a global scale. Both organisations have a customer-centric DNA and commitment to innovation that will help us achieve our shared vision of technology intelligence.”

Together, Snow and Embotics will offer the first platform that delivers CIOs an integrated perspective across their entire technology stack, empowering them to tackle use cases that require insight into both on-premises and cloud services, such as cloud migration planning, Bring-Your-Own-License (BYOL) optimisation and hybrid cloud cost management. The process of integrating Embotics into the Snow platform will begin immediately, and the companies will have a single go-to-market strategy starting in 2020. The combined business will be optimally positioned for strong growth with an expanded market presence as well as the field and operational resources needed to deliver cloud management at a global scale.

“As IT organisations work to balance transformation initiatives with day-to-day operations, hybrid and multicloud strategies are essential for today’s enterprise,” said William Fellows, Founder and Research Vice President at 451 Research. “Workloads now span public cloud, private cloud and legacy on-premises environments, and that mix is constantly changing to address the needs of the business. With Snow’s acquisition of Embotics, the market will benefit from the combination of their respective strengths on-prem and in the cloud, most notably when it comes to solving the unique challenges of hybrid environments.”

For more information on the acquisition and Snow’s platform, visit www.snowsoftware.com.

About Snow Software

Snow Software is the global leader in technology intelligence solutions, ensuring the trillions spent on all forms of technology is optimized to drive maximum value. More than 4,000 organizations around the world rely on Snow’s platform to provide complete visibility, optimize usage and spend and minimize regulatory risk. Headquartered in Stockholm, Snow has more local offices and regional support centers than any other software asset and cloud management provider, delivering unparalleled results to our customers and partners. To find out more about Snow Software, visit http://www.snowsoftware.com/ and follow Snow on Twitter @snowsoftware.

Banking

NDB Board of Directors meets in Shanghai, approves three projects with loans aggregating to USD 937 million

ByCFI.co Blogger

On December 2, 2019, the 22^nd Meeting of the Board of Directors of the New Development Bank (NDB) was held in Shanghai, China.

The Board approved three projects with loans aggregating to approximately USD 937 million, bringing the NDB’s portfolio to 49 projects with loans aggregating to USD 13.7 billion.

Hubei Huangshi Modern Tram Project

The NDB will provide a loan of RMB 2.76 billion (approx. USD 400 million) to the People’s Republic of China for Huangshi Modern Tram Project. It will address urban transport connectivity problems in Huangshi, a municipality in the southeastern part of Hubei Province, through the construction of a modern tram network with a total length of 27.33 km. The components of the Project include: i) laying of tracks, construction of stations and installation of associated facilities for the tram network; ii) procurement of rolling stock; and (iii) consultancy support for commissioning, preparation of operations and maintenance plan, capacity building and project management.

Manipur Water Supply Project

The NDB will provide a loan of USD 312 million to the Republic of India for Manipur Water Supply Project. It will address serious challenges in clean drinking water supply in Manipur, a small mountainous state in the northeastern region of India, through construction and upgrade of drinking water supply infrastructure. The components of the Project include construction and upgrade of drinking water supply systems in: i) Imphal Planning Area, the capital city of Manipur; ii) additional 25 towns; and iii) 1,731 rural habitations.

Indore Metro Rail Project

The NDB will provide a loan of USD 225 million to the Republic of India for Indore Metro Rail Project. The Project is to implement a metro line of approximately 31 km in the city of Indore. The Project will provide mass rapid transit capacity for the city’s major mobility corridors, thereby contributing to local economic development and an improved urban environment by reducing traffic congestion and pollution.

The Board also approved technical assistance totaling to USD 0.7 million for two projects from India and Russia.

Mizoram Tuirini Small Hydro Project

The NDB will provide technical assistance of USD 300,000 to the Republic of India for Mizoram Tuirini Small Hydro Project. The NDB’s technical assistance will provide consulting services aimed at preparing the Mizoram Tuirini Small Hydro Project. The project envisages construction of a small hydropower plant with an installed capacity of 24 MW in the state of Mizoram, to increase installed power generation capacity of Mizoram.

Krasnodar Cable Car Project

The Bank will provide technical assistance of USD 400,000 to the Russian Federation for Krasnodar Cable Car Project. The NDB’s technical assistance will provide consulting services aimed at preparing the Krasnodar Cable Car Project up to the stage when it can be considered by external financiers to seek approval for its financing. The project envisages the construction of a cable car network to be used as an alternative public transportation modality in Krasnodar city, Russia to relieve traffic congestion.

It is the first time that the NDB Board of Directors approved the provision of technical assistance through the Bank’s Project Preparation Fund (PPF), a multi-donor fund open to contributions by all the Bank’s members. The PPF’s objective is to support preparation of bankable projects to facilitate borrowing member countries to raise funds for such projects from the NDB or other multilateral development banks.

During the Meeting, an update on the NDB project pipeline and status of approved projects was provided to the Board. The Board also discussed matters pertaining to equity investments, funding programme, treasury related matters, membership expansion, review of NDB’s General Strategy: 2017-2021 and development impact of the Bank’s operations.

On December 2, 2019, the 13^th Meeting of the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee (ARC) of the New Development Bank was held in Shanghai. The ARC reviewed Quarterly Audited Financial Statements for the New Development Bank and the Project Preparation Fund of the NDB for the period ended September 30, 2019. The ARC also discussed matters pertaining to risk, internal audit and compliance.

The 8^th Meeting of the Budget, Human Resources and Compensation Committee (BHRC) of the New Development Bank was held on December 2, 2019. The Committee considered the Budget Utilisation Report for CY2019 and the Proposed budget for CY2020 as well as the three Year Budget for 2020-2022. The Committee also discussed matter pertaining to recruitment and diversity.

Background Information

The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. To fulfill its purpose, the NDB will support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments. According to the NDB’s General Strategy, sustainable infrastructure development is at the core of the Bank’s operational strategy for 2017-2021. The NDB received AA+ long-term issuer credit ratings from S&P and Fitch and AAA foreign currency long-term issuer rating from Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR).