Articles by Anna Irrera and Iain Withers

Financial Services Firms Beware, Outsiders Are Cracking the Code

Anyone can be a banker these days, you just need the right code. Global brands from Mercedes and Amazon to IKEA and Walmart are cutting out the traditional financial middleman and plugging in software from tech startups to offer customers …

London Financial Employees Return to Offices Despite Rising Virus Cases

LONDON — There’s no free lunch in finance – except when banks are wooing workers back to the office. London’s financial sector, keen to return to a semblance of normality after the worst of the pandemic, is leading the charge …

Tech Giants Are ‘Too Big to Fail’ Because They Host Insurers, Banks on Cloud Platforms

More than a decade on from the financial crisis, regulators are spooked once again that some companies at the heart of the financial system are too big to fail. But they’re not banks. This time it’s the tech giants including …

Many Climate Scientists Moving from Fieldwork to Jobs in Financial Services

LONDON – Environmental scientist Laura Garcia Velez cut her teeth on projects to help Ethiopian farmers insure crops for drought and connect remote Colombian communities to the electricity grid before working for conservation campaigners WWF. Now she’s an analyst for …

UK Insurer RSA Accepts $9.6 Billion Cash Takeover Offer

Canada’s Intact Financial and Denmark’s Tryg on Wednesday said they had reached an agreement to buy British insurance group RSA for 7.2 billion pounds ($9.6 billion) in cash in one of Europe’s biggest financial takeovers this year. Insurers have become …

Employees Say Rules at Britain’s Banks Block Use of Contact Tracing App

Branch staff at some of Britain’s biggest banks say rules that require them to store phones in lockers while at work are putting them at undue risk of COVID-19 from colleagues and customers, as they cannot use the country’s tracing …

Analysis: Fintech Funding Slides as Coronavirus Casts a Chill with Venture Capitalists

Aritra Chakravarty, founder of London-based online accounts and investments provider Dozens, admits it’s a tough time to be seeking up to 15 million pounds ($19 million) for a start-up. “It’s definitely a bearish market” said Chakravarty, who is seeking funding …

Financial Services Firms Risk $1 Trillion in Losses from Climate Change: Report

The world’s financial services sector risks losses of up to $1 trillion if it fails to respond quickly to climate change and is hit by policy shifts such as the introduction of a carbon tax, a new report shows. The …

London Litigation Funder Burford Alleges Share Manipulation in Attack on Its Accounts

London-listed litigation funder Burford Capital said it has found evidence of suspect trading patterns in its shares around the time short-seller Muddy Waters issued a report challenging the company’s accounts last week. Burford said an investigation by the fund and …