South Korea’s state-owned trade insurance firm, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure), has announced that it has reached an agreement to offer financial support worth $3 billion to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

The move is part of South Korea’s efforts to further strengthen its ties with the top oil companies in the United Arab Emirates. Under the terms of the deal, ADNOC will be provided with insurance facilities for all its overseas projects by the K-Sure. The agreement is going to run for three years. It has also helped the oil company in getting loans from leading lenders like Citibank and Bank of China.

The South Korean insurer said, “K-Sure became the only South Korean financial organization which clinched a strategic alliance with the ADNOC.” The financing deal makes it the biggest one that has been offered by K-Sure thus far this year. It is a significant deal for K-Sure as well because ADNOC is the biggest oil firm in the UAE and controls as much as 95% of the oil reserves in the country.

American start-up Robinhood announced that it has decided to withdraw its application to become a federally insured bank. The application had been submitted earlier in 2019. The company has revealed that it withdrew the application voluntarily. The California based startup offers commission-less crypto and stock trading services to its users.

However, the move from Robinhood does illustrate the difficulties faced by startups when it tries to disrupt the financial system. A Robinhood spokesperson said,

“Robinhood will continue to focus on increasing participation in the financial system and challenging the industry to better serve everyone. We appreciate the efforts and collaboration of all the parties we worked with throughout this process.”

While it is true that this is a major setback for Robinhood and the wider Fintech industry, it should be noted that the industry has the capability of offering a wide range of products. The products in question can compete with the biggest names in banking without regulatory approval, as well.

However, to accomplish that, the company would need to have a partner bank. That being said, it is important to mention that a source, which is familiar with the matter, stated that the withdrawal does not signal a change in Robinhood’s aims.

The Groupe Nduom Bank Liberia Limited has recently confirmed its association with the National Association of Foreign Exchange Bureaus of Liberia on a partnership agreement. The GN Bank is one of the most prosperous new banks and is expected to work on its financial, promotional activities through this partnership with NAFEBOL.

The agreement came through on the 26th of November at the head office of Bank (GN Bank) Liberia Limited on Broad Street. The NAFEBOL’s leadership and the personnel of the GN bank were the prime witnesses to this event.

We know how much people use this service for the transaction. We are glad to have entered this partnership with the belief that it will benefit both institutions,

said Madam Rhonda R. VonBallmoos, the bank Deputy Managing Director of Client Services and administration.

Now, you can transfer money to all GN Bank mobile money users using the Bank’s account,

says the agreement

The agreement also says that the association is to be working as a partner with GN Bank’s mobile money as long as the bank finds it profitable to proceed with the partnership.

We are here to support you, as we expect you to support us and our doors will keep open for you. We believe that this partnership will have a lot coming out of it for both institutions. Again, we want your services to reach to the common people,

Madam VonBallmoos said.

She also emphasized plans under development to ensure the decentralization of the program to 15 different countries. That is intended to expand the user base that comes under the service. She requested the users to register by dialing *545# with the GN bank.

Nicely Sayeh, the NAFEBOL President, announced that the association would put it’s best endeavors to sustain the agreement with the bank.

Me. Sayeh said that

We know that GN bank will see greater results from the exercise. We believe that with GN Bank, our businesses will grow faster than what it used to be. We appreciate the partnership and hope to work with you for years to come.

He asserted that The GN Bank plans to make the division available to all. They will only act as agents for the bank by dealing with their customers, while the bank will settle them back. They are to serve people as bank representatives, and the bank will ensure the gains in return.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced its annual compliance and enforcement results for the year 2019 on November 26, 2019. As per the results, the Commission has managed to pull in more than 1.3 billion dollars in restitution, penalties, and disgorgement for the term that began on October 1, 2018, and ended on September 30, 2019.

The results also brought a few high-profile cases to limelight including those charged with spoofing, manipulation, as well as the illegal usage of consumer funds during the said fiscal year.

What is important to note is that the rate of penalties this year is 39% up from the last year. If that was not interesting enough, 2019’s penalty figures are the 4^th highest in the Commission’s history so far.

The results also highlighted that the CFTC took a total of 69 enforcement actions this year. This figure was 67 in the previous year. Out of this total, only 4 cases did not fall into the charges of spoofing, commodities fraud, or manipulative conduct. According to the Commission, they have pursued what they call complex and significant litigations this year in diverse cases.

Apart from that, the reports also pointed out that the CFTC was able to secure enforceable commitments to high-end cases via landmark settlements. These cases spanned the whole spectrum of the market space. Some of the misconduct examples include spoofing, manipulation in benchmark rates, and retail fraud involving digital currencies.

The report also presents several enforcement actions against several crypto schemes, which the Commission considers as their key milestone during the year.

Initiatives for whistleblowers

The report has also thrown lights on the initiatives taken by the Division of Enforcement of CFTC to support their whistleblowers’ programs. Such programs help ensure support and streamlining of investigations through rewards and encouragement of tipsters. Many of the US regulatory organizations, including the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) and CFTC, employ such programs.

Interestingly, this year, the Commission has issued five whistleblower awards, worth around 15 million dollars in total, which is quite low as compared to the previous term. Last year, 75 million dollars were handed out in total five awards to tipsters with the largest one being of 30 million dollars.

No slowing down

The report also noted that the CFTC is going to continue its enforcement activities with the same vigor in the new financial year as well, without slowing down.

In a recent visit to New Delhi, the president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said that he wants Sri Lanka to be a Neutral Country that will work with all the countries peacefully, including India. He is the newly elected president of Sri Lanka who has no intention to harm the interests of India or any other country.

According to Gotabaya, Sri Lanka will work as a friendly country with India without giving any problems to India. His country should not be involved in the power struggles of superpowers because the country is quite small, and they cannot handle such balancing acts.

Gotabaya said that he wanted to work with India and China closely without any concerns and issues. He knows the concerns and matters of India and he will not engage in any of the activities that can threaten the security of India and harm the people. He continued that the Indian Ocean is the main sea path to pass the country from east to west and it plays a significant role in geopolitics these days. He wants this sea path to be free and there should be no control of any country on this path.

In the period 2005 to 2015, the relation between Sri Lanka and China was purely commercial. He wants other countries to invest, like India, Japan, Australia, Singapore, etc. He promised to develop an investment-friendly environment in Sri Lanka.

Gotabaya committed that the previous president Maithripala Sirisena made a mistake by providing Hambantota port to China on lease for 99 years. According to him, the deal should be renegotiated because it is fine to provide a small loan for investment but not an economic harbor. He does not want to involve in the military and geopolitical matters of the country as they only want investments to help them.

Loanzen recently raised funding from Zephyr Peacock India Growth Fund. Loanzen is a startup that offers financial services for the logistics industry. The news came out on Sunday, but the firm did not disclose the exact funding amount.

Kae Capital, the existing investor, also took part in the round. He said in the statement,

Loanzen will invest the funds raised in the development of technology, build data analytics teams, scale operations in existing locations across Karnataka and expand to new markets.

Zephyr Peacock India Growth Fund is a private fund of equity that invests in SMEs of India. It employs proprietary underwriting methods of different data sources to fulfill the necessities of its consumer base. It is headquartered in Bengaluru and serves customers from Karnataka majorly.

Loanzen refused to respond to the amount of valuation, but some links from the industry said that the amount could be around 4 million- 5 million dollars in the round.

The co-founder Madhu Sudhan said,

Given the rapid growth in the logistics segment with increasing penetration of technology, we are looking to scale up over the coming year… We are planning to target a Rs 75 crore-Rs 80 crore loan book addressing a base of over 2,000 customers in the coming year.

Managing Director at Zephyr Peacock, Abhijeet Kudva, said that Loanzen loan services had become an aid for more than 500 vehicle operators by now.

We expect Loanzen to become a leader in LOGISTICS FINANCING, supporting more than 15000 customers in the upcoming three to five years,

he said.

In a bid to widen its scope in the field of education, the Lock Haven University Council of Trustees held a meeting on Friday. The Trustees arrived at the conclusion of approving the inclusion of a new bachelor’s degree in finance and risk management within the business and computer science department in the prestigious Stephen Poorman College of Business, Information Systems, and Human Services.

The crucial decision will open the door for scores of students aspiring to pursue a career in finance and risk management.

Meanwhile, the trustees also assessed some latest measures for monetary assistance and affordability for students that also included the utilization of Student Retention Fund. The sole purpose behind the creation of the Student Retention Fund was to offer emergency funding for students who faced monetary obstacles.

LHU is a leading public university based in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. It is an integral part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. It provides approximately 69 undergraduate programs and 4 graduate programs.

Meanwhile, the recently approved bachelor’s degree in finance and risk management will include two concentrations: One will be in finance and insurance/risk management or FIRM and another one will be in finance, investment, and planning or FIP.

LHU President Dr. Robert Pignatello asserted,

The addition of the new finance and risk management bachelor’s degree is just one more way of demonstrating our focus on keeping up with, and ahead of, the growing workforce needs in our community.

The LHU strives to offer students a top-quality education that will pave the way for many lucrative employment opportunities, added President Pignatello.

Earlier this year in February, LHU had announced plans to build a school of nursing and seek to expend the nursing program to the main campus amid the rising demand for highly educated nurses in the continuously evolving healthcare environment.

Meanwhile, the addition of new finance and risk management bachelor’s degree will address the basic finance, risk management, and investments. In the coming years, these fields will offer greater employment opportunities to job aspirants.

Apart from this, a new monetary aid strategy was also announced during the meeting that will be based on merit and requirement. LHU’s Enrollment Management Division created the new monetary aid strategy for the first time freshmen. It will combine merit-based assistance, requirement based assistance, and federal and state aid to offer the most effective financial aid package for freshmen, emphasized Stephen Lee, vice president for enrollment management and student affair.

Students who are eligible will get the scholarship during admission time on the basis of their high school grade point average and SAT scores. For in-state students, the scholarship will vary from $500 to $2,500. Meanwhile, the out of state scholarship will vary from $2000 to $4000.

The Zimbabwe government has issued an order under which all importers operating in the country would have to provide details of the sources of their foreign currency holdings. Failure to show that their holdings are sourced from the banking system will lead to their confiscation by the government.

Announcing the step Deputy Finance Minister Clemence Chiduwa, said,

“In the event that you are not able to declare the official source of foreign currency, you forfeit whatever you have to the state. So this will deal with black market operations.”

Zimbabwe had followed a policy of dollarization for over a decade where the government allowed transactions in the US dollars along with the national currency. It was done to escape the effects of hyperinflation that the country experienced due to an economic crisis. Thus, US dollars began to be widely used by traders and businesses in the country.

It led to shortages in foreign currency holdings as Zimbabwe has also failed to attract foreign investments. It currently owes more than $9 billion to foreign lenders and does not meet the criteria for more funding.

In June this year, the government ended the policy of dollarization and mandated that only the national currency would be allowed in the country. Traders who had for long been trading in dollars had to arrive at a value for converting their dollar holdings into the Zimbabwe dollar. The large conversion ratio of the US dollar to Zimbabwe dollar has raised inflation, which rose to 440% in October.

The large discrepancy between the value of the US dollar and Zimbabwe dollar has led to the emergence of a black market where Zimbabwe dollars are exchanged for US dollars. Thus, no matter how the government prints many Zimbabwe dollars, the proportion of US dollars will not change as the newly printed Zimbabwe dollars will be exchanged in the black market for US dollars.

The only way to stop this cycle is for the Zimbabwe government to launch a crackdown on unaccounted foreign currency holdings.