When I began my career in finance almost 20 years ago, the CFO was a very different position to the role it is today. I started out in the Big Four (when it was the Big Five) and spent the first 12 years of my career working with many different CFOs across a broad spectrum of industries and countries.
Over the past several years, the role of the chief financial officer (CFO) has changed dramatically. This is due to many factors, including the global financial crisis of the last decade, the emergence of big data, the changing technological landscape and the ubiquitous influence of social media.
Just recently, Goldman Sachs reduced the number of employees on one of its major trading desks from 500 a few years ago to merely three. The bank is making huge shifts towards more investment in technology and reducing its headcount
Recovery in Europe is picking up. In the United States, the conditions seem to be also favorable for businesses with lower taxes, with low unemployment rates providing disposable income and driving demand.
A slew of recent arrests in Saudi Arabia have investors on edge. In a surprise move, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman conducted sweeping arrests of high-ranking and public officials under what was deemed to be “a corruption purge”.
A law adopted by the European Union (EU) expected to revamp European financial services takes effect in January 2018. The Payment Services Directive—dubbed PSD2 for its second edition—was initially adopted in 2015
Good news reports from Brazil have been few and far between in recent years. Political instability associated with high-level corruption has shaken investor confidence and ushered in the deepest recession Brazil has seen in decades.
American Apollo Global Management LLC, the world’s second-largest fund manager, broke the record for the largest fund in the history of private equity in July: it raised the largest ever private equity fund since 2007’s financial crisis, with $24.6 billion. Apollo plans to invest in North America and Western Europe.
Recently, the euro’s increase in value even accelerated after breaking the psychological bar of US$1.15. It reached $1.1665 on July 21, the highest level since January 14, 2015. Since the beginning of the year, it has gained 10.4 percent. The range between $1.5 and $1.20 per euro seems to be the currency’s new comfort zone.
Banco Santander of Spain is looking for a partner to handle a major cleaning. This is to get rid of the toxic assets, nonperforming buildings and credits that it inherited from Spanish Banco Popular, acquired last June for 1 euro symbolically when the latter was on the brink of bankruptcy.