NEWS
IBS Journal February 2018
15
Trump dismisses big bank penalties T
he Trump administration has dismissed some of the penalties levied on the big five megabanks who were convicted and fined for manipulating global interest rates.
One of the Trump waivers was given to Deutsche Bank – which, coincidentally, is owed over $130 million by Donald Trump’s businesses. Deutsche Bank was also fined for its role in a Russian money laundering scheme.
The waivers were issued in an official announcement published in the Federal Register on 28 December – the Christmas holiday week. As some have commented, they come less than two years after candidate Trump promised: “I’m not going to let Wall Street get away with murder.”
Deutsche Bank: fined for manipulating global interest rates
Under laws designed to protect retirement savings, financial firms whose affiliates have been convicted of violating securities statutes are effectively barred from the lucrative business of managing those savings. However, that punishment can be avoided if the firms manage to secure a special exemption from the US Department of Labor, allowing them to keep their status as “qualified professional asset managers”.
In 2016, the Obama administration provided five banks – Barclays, Citigroup, JPMorgan, UBS and Deutsche Bank – with
exemptions. In late December last year, the Trump administration issued new, longer waivers for those same banks, granting Citigroup, JPMorgan, and Barclays five-year exemptions. UBS and Deutsche Bank were granted three-year exemptions.
The Trump administration seems happy to wallow in its claims that Hillary Clinton was in the pocket of Wall Street for doing well- paid speaking tours while ignoring the fact that giving favours to banks your business owes money to could be seen as corruption.
TD and CIBC wrap up acquisitions as Canadian innovation race intensifies
C
anadian banks CIBC and TD have bought up promising startups this week, as the race to become the most innovative bank in the Great White North continues.
CIBC has snapped up Wellington Financial, a firm that provides growth capital to early and mid-stage technology companies. It will become part of CIBC’s Innovation Banking unit, focused on giving advice and funding to clients in the technology sector.
CEO and president of Wellington Financial, Mark McQueen, will become president and executive managing director of CIBC Innovation Banking. According to the company’s website, McQueen led the firm’s growth from its inception as a CA$7 million ($5.63 million) fund in 2000 to its current CA$300 million fund size.
TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank), Canada’s largest bank by assets, has acquired artificial intelligence startup Layer 6 AI. Michael Rhodes, group head of innovation, technology and shared
services, said the bank has been aiming to build its AI capabilities for some time, according to the Financial Post.
“The mass amounts of data with increases in computing power really give rise to the ability for machine learning, or artificial intelligence, to play a much more prominent role,” he said.
Layer 6, based in Toronto, launched in 2016. The firm uses AI to analyse data and ‘anticipate’ its client’s needs. The startup will keep its brand name and separate office in the city, but TD will become its sole customer and client.
“If we raised a ton of money from foreign investors, at some point we essentially stop being a Canadian company even if we’re located here,” said Layer 6 co-founder Jordan Jacobs.
“This was an opportunity to build inside a global company that is Canadian and help them leap to the front of the pack around the world in adopting AI.”
www.ibsintelligence.com
justhavealook/iStock
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
