Leading central bankers have warned that climate change – combined with a poorly managed low carbon transition – has the potential to trigger a sudden collapse in asset prices that could devastate the financial system. After sounding the alarm bells, central banks themselves are calling for action. Financial institutions need to adjust to the new… Continue reading CENTRAL BANKS WAKING UP TO CLIMATE CHANGE
£1.2 MILLION OF WALTHAMSTOW RESIDENTS’ HIGH INTEREST DEBT CANCELLED
Last week something totally new happened in Walthamstow. For the first time in the UK, £1.2 million worth of personal debt, bought on the secondary market, was unilaterally written off. This was not done by politicians or bankers but instead was the work of an amazing collective of film makers, activists, campaigners and local people… Continue reading £1.2 MILLION OF WALTHAMSTOW RESIDENTS’ HIGH INTEREST DEBT CANCELLED
How can macroprudential policies transmit within a banking group?
The unexpected shock represented by the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates the importance of building robust macroprudential frameworks to increase countries’ resilience against sudden disruptions in financial markets. By now, a widespread opinion among commentators and policy makers is that the macroprudential frameworks that were implemented over the past decades were effective in moderating market stress, a… Continue reading How can macroprudential policies transmit within a banking group?
Bias in banking
In his 1936 book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, Keynes coined the term “animal spirits” to argue that individuals often make economic decisions based on how they feel about the overall economy rather than through an unbiased, rational analysis of facts. This imperceptible, yet mighty, force of sentiment seems to propel the economy into… Continue reading Bias in banking
The pace of change: How quickly can socially responsible investors create impact?
Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in socially responsible investing. In 2020, about $15 trillion of professionally managed assets in the United States considered environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, an increase from less than $2 trillion in 2010 (US SIF 2020). Despite this tremendous increase in socially responsible investing, there… Continue reading The pace of change: How quickly can socially responsible investors create impact?