Davos round-up: Optimism, the dangers of forecasting and subsidy competition Optimism at Davos Optimism As Davos draws to a close, participants will likely leave feeling more optimistic than when they arrived. There was a mood of gentle optimism throughout, stoked by China’s reopening, rising hopes Europe can avoid a recession and continuing signs US inflation has passed its peak. IMF managing director Kristilina Georgieva cautiously joined the chorus [...]
Davos round-up: BoA ‘over-achieved’ on hiring, Morgan Stanley’s succession plan and Shapps searches for Britain’s Silicon Valley Davos As some of the world’s most important CEOs, politicians and thinkers gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos, City A.M. wraps up some of the top lines from the day. US bank layoffs Major Wall Street lenders have been forced into making large scale redundancies in the face of a global economic slowdown. Goldman’s [...]
‘We’re all terrified of being accused of greenwashing’, Standard Chartered boss tells Davos Davos Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters demanded clear rules on climate financing at a Davos meeting as potential lenders are “terrified of being accused of greenwashing”. Winters agreed with panellists that there needed to be much more action on financing climate change initiatives. However, he warned there needed to be standards on “what’s a good project [...]
Davos round-up: Goldman’s consumer banking headache, Big Tech layoffs and Germany’s green drive January 18, 2023 As some of the world’s most important CEOs, politicians and thinkers gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss an array of economic, political and social challenges, City A.M. wraps up some of the top lines from the day. Goldman Sachs’ consumer banking headache Goldman Sachs’ foray into consumer banking has not gone [...]
Shadow banks: UBS chair tells Davos how regulators have ‘taken their eye off the ball’ January 18, 2023 Colm Kelleher, chair of banking giant UBS, has warned of the need for regulators to spend more time policing so-called shadow banks, or non banks. He made the stark warning during a panel discussion on the risks facing the financial system at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He said regulators had “taken their eye [...]
Davos round-up: Citi’s lazy homeworkers, Credit Suisse’s ‘horrifying year’ and ESG investing gets political January 17, 2023 As some of the world’s most important bankers gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss an array of economic, political and social challenges, City A.M. wraps up some of the top lines from the day. Credit Suisse’s “horrifying year” Credit Suisse’s own chair, Axel Lehmann, described 2022 as “a horrifying year for [...]
Wealthy nations should pay more for low-emission air travel, Heathrow boss tells Davos elites January 17, 2023 Wealthy nations should pay more for low-emission air travel, Heathrow’s boss John Holland-Kaye told business and political leaders gathered in Davos today. “The wealthy people in this room and the wealthy nations should be funding the energy transition in aviation,” Holland-Kaye said, speaking at an event on the future of travel at the World Economic [...]
Which senior bankers have made the trip to Davos? January 16, 2023 The world’s rich and powerful return to Davos this week as the world grapples with a challenging set of economic issues. The topic for this year’s meeting – which has returned to its normal January timeslot – is Cooperation in a Fragmented World. The basic tenet guiding the meeting is that “the current crises, [...]
Manchester United at Davos: Why has the for-sale Premier League club set up shop at the World Economic Forum? January 16, 2023 Manchester United have insisted that the club’s pop-up venue at Davos is not designed to drum up interest among the world’s super-rich in a possible £8bn sale. United’s owners, the Glazer family, put them on the market in November and bankers are reported to have invited bids for minority or majority stakes by next month. [...]
Insurers grapple with transition to a greener world August 10, 2022 Last week, a coalition of thirteen of the UK’s major insurers vowed to cut their supply chain emissions as part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s (SMI’s) sustainable supply chain pledge. In signing the SMI pledge, the 13 insurers and brokers – including Axa, Phoenix, Lloyd’s, and Direct Line – vowed to work with their suppliers [...]