The Libra Association is meeting in Geneva to review a charter and appoint a board of directors. But with big backers like Mastercard, Visa, PayPal and eBay abandoning the project, the question now is how big banks are approaching the digital currency. Citi’s Chief Innovation Officer Vanessa Colella is taking a cautious approach: “As banks we are custodians of a safe and sound financial system.” In her view, Citi is not “jumping on” in any sense, because what the company needs to do should be both forward-looking and prudent.A stock exchange that measures social returns
As impact investing gains in popularity, the industry is coming under mounting pressure to develop standards for evaluating real change. Karen Wendt, CEO of Eccos Impact, says one “market solution to end the mess” would involve setting up a stock exchange for these assets.
Expect more green regulations in wake of elections, says UBS economist
With Switzerland’s two green parties making historic gains in national elections yesterday, UBS Switzerland’s chief economist Daniel Kalt says he expects more regulations to come concerning sustainability. But he warns against bans or excessive government intervention, calling for incentives such as a tax on carbon emitting fossil fuels instead.
A “free for all” direction in trade not the way to go, says Evenett
Ahead of the IMF meeting in Washington D.C. and the Brexit vote in the UK, Simon Evenett of the University of St. Gallen talks about the future of multilateral agreements and globalization in general. In his view, the large economies are moving in a “free for all” direction where countries won’t respect the rules and will grab as much market share of the world market as they can. “I think it is the wrong way to go,” says Evenett.
Climate is a key issue in Swiss national elections
Climate concerns are key among voters ahead of this Sunday’s national elections. Turnout is also expected to pass 50 percent for the first time in 40 years.
Apple on track to outsell the entire Swiss watch industry
The shift from analog to digital is leaving Swiss watchmakers behind amid growing demand for watches that do much more than tell time. Apple has grabbed about 50 percent of the smartwatch market in just five years and will probably sell more watches this year than the entire Swiss industry, says Alexander Linz, head of content at WatchAdvisor.com.
Negative interest rates benefit robo-advisers, says Decartes Finance
In recent months, there has been a backlash against robo-advising. But Adriano Lucatelli, co-founder and CEO of Descartes Finance, sees the current negative-interest-rate environment as being advantageous to robo-advisers since saving costs is crucial for consumers.
Smile aims to become the Netflix of insurance industry
Smile, the direct insurance arm of Helvetia, says it benchmarks itself against tech companies like Netflix, as it looks to shake-up the industry with its monthly subscription model and mobile-first approach. CEO Pierangelo Campopiano is targeting premium volumes of CHF 100 million in the next year.
