Author: CFI.co Blogger

Economics

No-deal Brexit fears trigger investors to seek international options

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Growing fears of a no-deal Brexit will prompt an increasing number of British and international investors to move their financial assets overseas out of the UK, believes the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory and fintech organisations.
 
The observation from Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of deVere Group, which has $12bn under advisement, comes as the UK formally rejects an extension to the Brexit transition period – raising the risk of a no-deal departure at the end of the year.
 
Mr Green notes: “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK is suffering its deepest recession in 300 years. Nevertheless, the government is sticking with its hard Brexit plans.

“Concerns over the fallout from a no-deal Brexit will prompt an increasing number of British and international investors to move their financial assets overseas out of the UK.”

He continues: “Should the UK leave with no-deal, the already weak pound – which is one of the world’s worst-performing currencies this year – is likely to remain weak for several years to come until Britain and the EU readjust. It has already shed about 20% of its value since the EU referendum in 2016.

“A low pound can help to reduce people’s purchasing power and lead to a drop in UK living standards. Weaker sterling means imports are more expensive, with rising costs being passed on to consumers.”

The drop in sterling is good for UK exports some insist, however around half of the country’s exports rely on imported components. “These will become more expensive as the pound falls in value,” noted Mr Green.

“In addition, a weaker pound is, of course, bad news for British expats, amongst others, who receive income or pensions in sterling and as Brits looking to travel overseas,” he added.
 
The deVere CEO goes on to say: “Britain appears to be sleepwalking towards an economic blackhole.
 
“People are already becoming increasingly nervous about this situation.  Many will, inevitably and quite sensibly be looking to build and protect their wealth by moving assets overseas through various established international financial solutions.
 
“The pace of this trend is likely to increase over the next few months as the issues look set to ramp-up.”

Finance

6 Tips for Preventing Fraud

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

In the first 6 months of 2019 alone, £616m was stolen from banks in the UK due to fraud. In the Philippines, there were over half a billion pesos lost due to credit card fraud. Each year, banks, ATM systems, and credit card scanners come up with new ways to protect you against identity theft and fraud. These upgrades don’t seem to last, however. As quickly as the safety upgrades are made, it seems criminals are coming up with new ways to get around them. You can never be too safe and that’s why you need to learn about preventing fraud yourself.

The more knowledge you have about it, the better chances you have at avoiding it altogether. Don’t be a victim to identity theft, fraud, or any other type of financial scam. Continue reading below for six of the best tips to know about preventing fraud in your life. 

1. Take Advantage of All Online Security Features

If you bank online, then you need to set up an account with as many security features as possible. Your banking app has these features set in place for you to ensure your information stays secure. If you’re not taking advantage of all the security features, then you could be placing yourself in a better position to get hacked.

Most banks will offer a multi-step authentication process when logging in accounts online or on the app. Make use of these. For example, to access your account, it might require you to give your fingerprint, log in using your credentials, send a security code to your phone, and make you answer security questions. 

Use as many of these features as you can. 

2. Check Your Bank Statements Frequently

Some criminals will gain access to your bank account and spend a large amount of money all at one time. Others will use your information to make purchases overseas. When either of these situations happen, it signals a red flag to your bank. 

Other fraud criminals, however, are a bit smarter with their crimes. They’ll start out by only taking small amounts out here and there. This makes it less recognisable by you and your bank. 

To catch them in the act, you’ll need to keep an eye on your bank statements on a regular basis. Log into your accounts and go through each withdrawal. 

3. Avoid Accepting a Check and Wiring Money

One of the most common ways criminals scam innocent people is by sending them a check and asking them to wire money back in exchange. This mostly happens when someone makes a private purchase. A person will contact you saying they want to purchase something you have for sale. 

They’ll explain to you that they only have a check for a certain amount, which is greater than the price of the item. They’ll send you the check and ask you to then wire them the difference. After you wire them the difference, you’ll soon learn that their check was bad. 

If anyone approaches you with this scenario, decline. Avoid accepting checks with the intent to then wire money. Once you wire your money, it’s gone, and usually can’t be traced. 

4. Never Use a Public Computer or Connection

When you do need to log into your bank account online, never use a public computer or a public connection. You only want to use your private phone network or a secure network at your house or someone’s house who you trust. 

When you log into your bank accounts using a computer that isn’t yours or from a public internet connection, you take the risk of a scammer hacking your information. 

5. Report a Card Lost or Stolen Immediately 

Haven’t seen your bank card in a few days? Don’t wait to report your card lost or stolen. Even if you believe it fell in that hard-to-reach place in your car, don’t take the chance of not reporting it. 

Replacing your credit and debit cards with your bank is quite simple. They’ll even give you a temporary card to use while waiting for your new one to come in the mail. Even if you have to go a few hours or days without access to your account, it’s better than allowing an unauthorised user to have access to it. 

6. Contact Your Bank About Added Safety Features

Following these tips is a great way to reduce your risk of bank fraud. There is more you can do, though. If you feel you need an extra layer of protection on your account, then contact your bank directly.

Ask about what security features they offer. They might be able to put a high alert on your account. This sometimes means that you’ll have to go inside the bank to make any type of transaction and the slightest detail in your account statement could warrant a phone call to you from your bank. 

Some of these features might seem like they’d become pestering, but it’s the best way to ensure no fraud is allowed on your account. 

Preventing Fraud Is Simple When You Know These Tips!

Finding out your bank account has fraudulent transactions is a big hit to the gut. If not caught right away, it can sometimes take years for people to gain their identity back or get their life back together after a scam. Don’t be one of these people. 

Preventing fraud is easy when you follow the tips listed in this post. 

For more topics as helpful as the one here, visit our blog on a daily basis!

Banking

Union Bank of the Philippines among ‘Most Helpful Banks in Asia-Pacific’ during COVID-19

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

The only Phl bank in the Top 20

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has been ranked as the second most helpful bank in Asia-Pacific during the coronavirus crisis – the only Philippine bank in the top 20 list.

UnionBank was next only to KakaoBank, South Korea’s largest digital-only bank, according to the BankQuality Consumer Survey on Retail Banks – an online survey conducted last April 1-30, 2020 and covering total 11,000  respondents, with 1,000 each coming from China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The respondents, aged between 18 to 65 and who have at least one bank account each, chose the banks most beneficial to them amid the ongoing pandemic because of their contactless nature and digital services.

UnionBank was ranked higher than international banks such as HSBC, Citibank, DBS, CIMB, United Overseas Bank and OCBC, among others.

UnionBank president and CEO Edwin Bautista expressed gratitude for the public’s recognition of the bank’s quick, sincere and relentless efforts to help alleviate their plight in this difficult time.

“It warms our hearts to know that our customers recognize and value our heroic efforts during this crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has brought the world an unprecedented disruption, but with each of us doing our share, we will weather this challenge – no matter how massive it can be,” Bautista said.

Since the start of the quarantine period, UnionBank boosted its mobile and web banking platforms for retail and corporate customers namely UnionBank Online and The Portal, respectively, to enable clients to safely do their banking transactions from home.

UnionBank was also among the first banks to waive its online fund transfer fees, and deployed its Bank On Wheels to bring its bank branches at the doorstep of its customers.

“I would like to also thank our very hardworking and selfless UnionBankers – frontliners all – who have been doing their utmost during this pandemic to deliver safe, consistent and full service digital banking to our customers, for this accolade,” Bautista added.

The bank’s fintech arm UBX, has facilitated the release of cash subsidies through the deployment of mobile automated teller machines (ATMs) to its rural bank partners and financial cooperatives where beneficiaries of the government’s Social Amelioration Program can withdraw their money quickly.

UBX has also begun linking its rural bank members to its new network that includes Cebuana Lhuillier, LBC, Palawan Express and PeraHub.  This enables customers of these rural banks to send funds and payments to over 11,000 branches of the four remittance centers nationwide.

Banking

Union Bank of the Philippines appoints world-leading Data Scientist to further advance digital capabilities

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Consistent with its commitment to make banking simpler and more inclusive via best-in-class digital and mobile capabilities, Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) recently appointed global data science expert Dr. David Hardoon Ph. D., as the Bank’s Senior Advisor for Data and Artificial Intelligence (D & AI), reporting to President and CEO Edwin R. Bautista.

Senior Advisor for Data and Artificial Intelligence (D & AI): Dr. David Hardoon Ph. D.

The announcement was made as the Bank continues to see a surge in digital transactions among customers as a result of evolving consumer behavior amplified by the current enhanced community quarantine.  These transactions mean an increased volume of data running through the Bank’s systems which data science and AI can unlock to allow the Bank to serve its customers better.

“Leveraging Data and AI is a key driver to our next-level of digital transformation as we continue to put the customer – both individuals and businesses – at the heart of our business,” said UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista in a statement.

Dr. Hardoon replaces John Januszczak, who is now focused in his role as president and CEO of UBX, UnionBank’s fintech subsidiary.

Dr. Hardoon is a graduate of Royal Halloway, the University of London with First-Class Honors B.Sc. in Computer Science and AI, and a holder of a PhD in Machine Learning from the University of Southampton School of Electronics and Computer Science United Kingdom.

Prior to his appointment at UnionBank, Dr. Hardoon was the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS, Singapore’s counterpart of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) first appointed Chief Data Officer and Head of the Data Analytics Group, and subsequently MAS’ Special Advisor on Artificial Intelligence. In these roles, he led the development of the AI strategy both for MAS and Singapore’s financial sector as well as efforts in promoting open cross-border data flow.

In addition, he led and established the ASEAN Advanced Analytics of Ernst & Young Advisory Singapore as Director of EY Data, IT Advisory Services, and co-founded Azendian Solutions Pte. Ltd., an information management and data science consultancy between 2013 and 2017. He was also Head of Analytics at SAS Institute Ltd. Singapore from 2010 to 2013.

As Senior Advisor for Data and AI, Dr. Hardoon will be working with various centers, groups, and units to reinforce data infrastructure and governance, behavior modelling, machine learning, and AI capabilities as well as applications in the Bank and its parent company Aboitiz Equity Ventures.

Aside from his role with the Bank, Dr. Hardoon is concurrently Senior Advisor for AI to Singapore’s Corrupt Investigation Practices Bureau, and Senior Advisor for Data Science to Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board.

Economics

Expert comment from Warwick Business School

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Warwick Business School

Commenting as Easyjet announced it would resume flights next month,

Professor Loizos Heracleous, an aviation industry expert at Warwick Business School, said:

“Airlines will face a number of challenges as they resume flights. For example, if governments require them to observe social distancing rules on planes, that would mean middle seats are left empty.

“This would reduce capacity and lead to an increase in ticket prices. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), prices would have to rise by 40-50 per cent, just for airlines to break even.

“The good news for airlines is that they will benefit from lower oil prices and research is already under way that may enable equipment to sniff out coronavirus before passengers board.

“Airlines have been forced to conserve cash to survive, cutting flights, reducing their workforce, and postponing capital investment. However, social habits including the urge to travel have not changed. Provided we find ways to control the virus, through testing, treatment or a vaccine, the industry should be back to pre-pandemic levels within two to three years.

“Aviation is too essential to wither. It is here to stay and the market system is resilient enough to ensure the industry thrives after this temporary setback.”

Economics

Pound could drop even further – to $1.18 – in June: deVere CEO

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

The pound – this month’s worst-performing major currency – could “easily drop to $1.18” at the end of June, warns the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory and fintech organisations.

The warnings from deVere Group’s chief executive and founder Nigel Green come as it is revealed that the British currency shed almost 4% against the U.S. dollar in May and 3% against the euro.

Mr Green comments: “The pound is this year’s third-weakest major currency – just behind the New Zealand dollar and Norwegian krone, which have done even worse.

“The pound has been battered since the Brexit referendum in 2016 and the ensuing years of political uncertainty, losing around 20% of its value since the referendum. 

“The Covid-19 crisis has been another hammer blow for sterling as it promoted a flight-to-safety and ramped-up the search for liquidity.  This situation is a win for the U.S. dollar and, in turn, a loss for the pound.”

He continues: “There are legitimate concerns that the pound has further to fall in the next few weeks.

“It could easily drop to $1.17-$1.18 by the end of June due to renewed and heightened fears of a negative shock due to a no-deal Brexit combined with the far-reaching economic fallout of the pandemic.”

Negotiations between the UK and the EU on their post-Brexit future relationship stalled on Friday with the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier saying the two sides risked reaching a “stalemate.”

The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly threatened to walk away from the talks if insufficient progress has been made by next month’s high-level negotiations. The UK has indicated the alternative of an “Australia-style” deal, a relationship where both sides trade on basic World Trade Organization terms, similar to a no-deal Brexit.

“An even weaker pound will help to reduce people’s purchasing power and a drop in UK living standards. Weaker sterling means imports are more expensive, with rising costs being passed on to consumers,” says Mr Green.
 
“The fall in the pound is good for exports some claim, but it must be remembered that around 50% of UK exports rely on imported components. These will become more expensive as the pound falls in value.
 
“A low pound is, of course, bad news for British expats, amongst others, who receive income or pensions in sterling.
 
“The country’s financial services sector – which represents 6% of all economic activity – will also be adversely affected because it is built on foreign investment that puts its faith in sterling being strong.”

The deVere CEO concludes: “The pound will remain volatile, and is likely to become weaker in the next month.
 
“As such, it can be expected that domestic and international investors in UK assets will be seeking the available international options available to them.”

Digital Banking

Global advisory giant to launch major digital finance operation in Dubai

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

One of the world’s largest independent financial advisory and services organisations is to develop a major digital finance operation from Dubai, confirms its CEO and founder.

deVere Group’s Nigel Green made the announcement on Wednesday as the world readjusts to a post-pandemic new normal.

Mr Green comments: “The world has changed forever in the last few months, the market has changed and client expectations have changed.

“Much of this is being driven by new technologies and the rapid pace of the digitialisation of our lives, including our financial lives. 

“It was a trend that was happening pre-pandemic, but which has been massively accelerated because of it.

“Indeed, this new decade is being reshaped more rapidly and more dramatically than any other.

“To meet these fundamental shifts, we’re developing and building a major digital financial organisation from Dubai.”

There are, says Nigel Green, three main drivers why Dubai has been chosen for this by the organisation that does business in 100 countries worldwide.

“First, we already have had for more than 15 years a considerable footprint in Dubai and across the UAE, with many teams of highly talented individuals.

“Second, Dubai, which is already recognised as one of the most important financial centres in the world, can be expected to become one of the world’s top ten international financial hubs to rival and more aggressively compete with the likes of London, New York and Hong Kong.”
 
He adds: “Dubai is helped in this regard by having an independent regulator, an independent judicial system, a global financial exchange, a stable, pro-business government, a high proposition of high net worth individuals, a dynamic business community, world-class infrastructure, superior digital and telecommunications networks, English as its de-facto business language, and its enviable geographical location and time zone.

“And third is Dubai’s passion for and expertise in innovation. We’ve seen this in real-time as the emirate diversified from oil to become a truly global leader in trade, transportation, finance, tourism, retail and real estate.  

“This is exemplified by Expo 2020 Dubai’s theme, ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’; as well as Sultan Al Mansoori, the UAE Economy Minister, saying recently that the new economy will now be built around digital.”

The deVere CEO says that the Dubai-based digital financial organisation will consolidate and “significantly further develop and expand” the organisation’s pioneering global Contactless Finance service and its world-leading fintech apps, which allow people to access, use, save, invest and manage their money 24/7, on-the-go, anywhere in the world.

Nigel Green concludes: “Our new Dubai-based model is designed for the new world with, as always, the client experience, and expectations and outcomes front and centre of mind.”

Economics

Negative interest rates are coming, investors taking action: deVere CEO

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Negative interest rates are coming and investors will now be looking to bolster their portfolios to ‘get ahead of the curve and build wealth’, says the CEO and founder of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.

deVere Group’s Nigel Green is speaking out after rate options, which gauge monetary policy forecasts, implied on Monday a 23% likelihood that the key federal funds rate will drop below zero by the end of 2020, according to BofA Securities data.

It’s not just the U.S., the world’s largest economy, which is moving towards this scenario.

On Tuesday, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England also suggested that the UK may be headed toward negative interest rates.

Mr Green comments: “A new global era of negative interest rates would have been unimaginable even a few months ago.  But this has now changed due to the coronavirus.

“As central banks around the world grapple to control the economic impact, it can be reasonably expected that more and more of them will take a dramatic change of policy course and take rates to below zero – like their peers in Europe and Japan.”

He continues: “There is legitimate debate about the efficacy of negative interest rates on boosting economies. 

“They could turn out to be a masterclass in the law of unintended consequences as they could be viewed by consumers and investors that the underlying economies are in a perilous position and, as a result, prompt a drop in consumer and investor demand.”

Whilst the debate on whether negative interest rates help the ‘real economy’ or not will continue, there is no doubt that they help boost financial asset prices.
 
“With this firmly in their minds, market-wise investors will know be looking to bolster their portfolios before the next round of cuts and the likely subsequent price increase. They are taking advantage of the lower entry points now before the next major rally,” notes Nigel Green.
 
He goes on to add: “In addition, those with savings in the bank are already getting no return thanks to the ultra-low interest rates.  Negative rates will offer them more reason to increase their exposure to equities, for example.”
 
The deVere CEO concludes: “The question mark remains on whether cutting rates from their already low levels will solve the issues created by the coronavirus outbreak.
 
“I believe, due to the economic situation and the hints from central banks, that there are more rate cuts on their way as they know it’s not sustainable to just keep printing money.

“This ‘direction of travel’ will push up financial asset prices and, as such, many investors are now looking to get ahead of the curve and build wealth.”

Finance

Bitcoin halving highlights crypto is part of mainstream finance: deVere CEO

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Bitcoin’s historic halving event on Monday underscores that the “long-term future of cryptocurrencies is secure”, says the CEO and founder of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.

The comments from deVere Group’s Nigel Green come as the world’s supply of Bitcoin was forever slashed on Monday. The highly anticipated halving event, occurring only every four years, means that less and less Bitcoin – which is limited to 21 million units – will now been mined.

Monday’s was only the third ever halving. In 2012, the number of new Bitcoins issued every 10 minutes fell from 50 to 25. In 2016, it went down from 25 to 12.5. Now, in the 2020 halving, it will drop from 12.5 to 6.25.

The halving happened on block 630,000.

Nigel Green says: “The historic Bitcoin halving event has demonstrated in two ways that digital assets’ long-term future is secure.

“First, the price had been rising steadily ahead of the highly anticipated event – almost three-fold in the last three months – and then dropped back just before and after it took place.

“This shows that there has been increasing retail demand for Bitcoin as investors see and understand the growing influence and huge opportunities of digital currencies in an increasingly tech-driven world.

“With this in mind, large cryptocurrency investors, known as ‘whales’, accumulate crypto at much lower prices then start a sell-off to capitalise on this sustained growing demand.”

He continues: “Second, history teaches us that after this post-halving drop in price, there is a subsequent bull run. 

“Previous Bitcoin halving events have prompted impressive price climbs. The 2016 halving triggered a 300% jump in the value of Bitcoin. 

“There is no reason to believe this time the market will not respond with a longer-term upward trajectory.

“Indeed, the rally which is likely on its way could potentially be even more dramatic because there is more mass awareness than ever before of the long-term use of and need for digital currencies.”

The deVere CEO adds that in these unusual times, central banks have increased monetary supply and this will further drive prices of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

“Traditional currencies are devalued and inflation fears rise on the back of the mass printing of money, the likes of which we have recently seen in the U.S., where the nation’s central bank has added trillions of dollars to the money supply,” he says.

“Such measures will inevitably encourage even more investors to consider decentralised, non-sovereign digital currencies.”

Mr Green concludes: “Looking ahead beyond the halving event, cryptocurrencies are increasingly becoming regarded as the future of money due to the real-world issues they address and growing mass adoption.”

Economics

Are rallying stock markets out of step with economic reality?

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Buoyant stock markets are not necessarily ignoring alarming economic data, rather they are reflecting the post-pandemic era, affirms the CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.

The observation from deVere Group chief executive and founder Nigel Green comes as official figures on Friday revealed that more than 20 million people in the U.S. lost their jobs in April and the unemployment rate more than trebled.

Mr Green comments: “The staggering U.S. unemployment numbers wipe out a decade’s worth of job gains. There’s been nothing like this since the Great Depression.

“Yet U.S. stock futures climbed higher as global markets rose on Friday.  This is highly unusual.”

He continues: “There are two things happening simultaneously here.

“First, a weak first half of 2020 has already been priced-in. 

“As have the risks of a potential second wave – but the concerns of this are being largely contained as it is not such a ‘bolt out of the blue’.

“It is extreme uncertainty, the likes of which we saw at the peak of the pandemic, that typically upsets markets.

“Whether they are correct in their assessment remains to be seen, but markets are looking towards the second half of the year.  They appear to believe that there is likely to be a steady economic recovery as key advances are made in coronavirus treatments, as central banks continue to implement and further bolster historic stimulus packages, and as lockdown restrictions around the world are eased to revive activity.”

He goes on to add: “Second, and perhaps more importantly, stock markets are reflecting what is going on in the economy right now and what it’ll look like post-pandemic.

“A closer look at the markets reveals that, of course, not all stocks and sectors are rising equally. They are being driven up across the board by the ‘winners’ of this new era including tech, biotech, home entertainment and established online retailers, amongst others.

“We can assume that these, and other stock market ‘winners’, are showing us what the future economy looks like.”

The deVere CEO concludes: “The optimistic stock markets seem at odds with the grim economic data.  They may be being overly confident, even complacent.

“But it could also be the case that they are giving us clear signals for the current and future shape of the economy, in which there are and will be distinct winners and losers. 

“A good fund manager will help investors seek out the opportunities and mitigate potential risks as and when they are presented to generate and build their wealth.”