Analysis & Insights From The World Of Finance & Business

By Dan Doney, CEO, Securrency

The security token industry was expected to take off in 2019 but failed to live up to the hype. Following major strides byregulators and increased investor scrutiny of the security token industry over the past 12 months – from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granting Reg A+ approval to Blockstack -will 2020 mark the year of the security token? Dan Doney, CEO of Securrency, a leading developer of institutional-grade blockchain-based financial and regulatory technology, has provided his predictions on what 2020 will hold for the security token industry.

Securrency announced Series A funding of $17.65 million, led by strategic investor WisdomTree investments, and venture firms focused on financial market infrastructure technology.

#1:  What will the security token industry look like in 2020? 

We believe that 2020 will see an acceleration of the trend that links incumbent financial service providers with emerging security token firms to tokenize institutional grade assets. We should see tokenization platforms emerge provided by some of the largest technology firms (like Microsoft and Facebook) and issuances from highly trusted investment firms and asset managers.

#2:  What challenges still need to be overcome for this industry to thrive, and how close are we to seeing adoption from both a retail and institutional perspective? 

The biggest challenge is the gap…

By Eyal Nachum, Executive at Bruc Bond (formerly Moneta International)

Over the last several years the banking industry has been going through a transformation. Many of the changes are positive, bringing about a glut of innovative services and greatly expanding consumer choice. However, some changes are negatively affecting the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that serve as the real backbone of the economy. Let’s take a look at some of the more significant shifts in the industry, their causes, what they mean for SMEs and what you can do to overcome these new challenges.

The financial crash a decade ago hit everybody hard, and the changes introduced during the recovery period have themselves been sometimes hard to swallow. Nonetheless, a few trends have emerged that we should keep in mind when surveying the international banking landscape.

A Shrinking Decade

One undeniable reality facing the world is that today the banking industry is smaller than it was ten years ago. In fact, it’s significantly smaller.

As part of the recovery from the financial crash, central banks around the world have maintained historically low interest rates. While the debate on the efficacy of this measure continues, the reality is that interest rates have never been this low for so long. Because European bank earnings far more dependent on interest income than their global counterparts, bank profits in the eurozone have been significantly hampered, and belts…

Global Banking & Finance Awards® 2019 Winner – Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz – Exclusive Interview

Alberto Valdés Andreatta, Executive Vice President of Banco Mercantile Santa Cruz talks to Global Banking & Finance Review about the banks achievement, the current opportunities facing the banking sector in Bolivia, product innovation and their commitment to communities they serve.

As a leader in retail banking what initiatives do you feel have contributed to your success?

One of the main initiatives to be positioned as a national and international leader in retail banking, has been the design of comprehensive and micro-segmented strategies to provide products, services and customer support according to the specific needs of each segment and each one of our stakeholders.

Likewise, a key aspect has been to use active listening. As Mercantil Santa Cruz bank, we always seek to obtain feedback from our clients in order to improve each one of our processes and products.

The uninterrupted investment in technology and innovation has also been fundamental because it has allowed us to democratize financial services and strengthen the reach of our bank to all Bolivians. The implementation of new processes and functionalities today have simplified financial operations and made them much more comfortable, efficient and safe.

In your opinion, what are the biggest opportunities and challenges facing the banking sector in Bolivia?

One of the main challenges is to understand the user,…