Forty big banks test blockchain-based bond trading system

Forty of the world’s biggest banks, including HSBC and Citi, have tested a system for trading fixed income using the technology that underpins bitcoin, fintech company R3 CEV said on March 3.

The banks are part of a consortium of 42 major lenders, brought together last year by New York-based R3 CEV to work on ways blockchain technology could be used in financial markets – the first time so many have collaborated on using such systems.

A blockchain is a huge, decentralised ledger of transactions that can be used to secure and validate any exchange of data, including real assets, such as commodities or currencies.

Bitcoin’s blockchain was the first, but others have since been built that offer additional features and can be programmed. That means the technology can enable so-called smart contracts: agreements that are automatically executed when pre-determined conditions are met.

http://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2016/03/03/forty-big-banks-test-blockchain-based-bond-trading-system/

World Bank gone wild: Zoo in India granted funding in a global first

The World Bank is taking a walk on the wild side, turning its financial attention to a zoo and adjoining wildlife sanctuary in India, according to local press.

The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) in Vizag on the coast of the Bay of Bengal was devastated during Cyclone Hudhud in October 2014 along with the adjoining Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary.

The World Bank is now extending a helping hand of $20 million to help reconstruct the zoo as part of the $370 million Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project, which the bank will help finance to the tune of $250 million from 2015-2020.

Neha Vyas, senior environment specialist at the India country office of the World Bank who is actively involved in this eco-development project, told The Times of India this is “the very first time in the history of the World Bank that it is directly involved in a zoo”.

According to a damages needs assessment report by the World Bank following the cyclone, almost 40 per cent of the complex’s trees were flattened and an even larger number were damaged.

https://www.rt.com/business/329259-world-bank-gone-wild-zoo/

World Bank gone wild: Zoo in India granted funding in a global first https://t.co/3ut79U0ZmS pic.twitter.com/7Mnkagve95

— RT (@RT_com) January 17, 2016

MAJOR BANK WARNS OIL PRICE COULD FALL TO $10 A BARREL

Banking and financial services company Standard Charter said Tuesday, “we think prices could fall as low as $10 a barrel before most of the money managers in the market conceded that matters had gone too far.”

Major Bank Warns Oil Price Could Fall To $10 A Barrel

 

Too big to fail’ banks need $1.2 trillion

 These stricter requirements affect American giants like JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC)and Goldman Sachs (GS) as well as European behemoths like HSBC (HSBC) and Barclays.

Wells Fargo (WFC) and JPMorgan are the U.S. banks most vulnerable to the new G20 rules, Morningstar’s Baker said. He estimates Wells Fargo may need to raise up to $30 billion, while JPMorgan could need $25 billion.

The Financial Stability Board, a watchdog created by the G20 after the last crisis, said total loss absorbing capacity must equal 16% of a bank’s assets by 2019. That requirement then rises to 18% by 2022.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/09/investing/too-big-to-fail-banks-need-a-trillion/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom