There seems to be a move to conscious capital, as the aging of the population in the vast majority of nations in the world today raises the prospects for a “kinder and gentler society”. Unfortunately, we have experienced a rapacious capitalism over the past few decades driven by insatiable greed, particularly at an executive level, which has lead to unethical and illegal behaviour, e.g. Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, Steinhoff, Valeant, Arthur Andersen, KPMG, Lehmann Brothers, etc.

Further to our blog on 2 August, the FCA has introduced regulations which require lenders to assess affordability more rigorously. This would seem to be in response to soaring levels of household debt in the UK, which, according to the following article in the Guardian, are worse than at any time on record. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jul/26/household-debt-in-uk-worse-than-at-any-time-on-record#img-1 The new regulations contained in PS 18/19 and the revisions to CO

It is acknowledged that consumer credit plays an important role in society and is a largely beneficial activity, enabling borrowers to purchase goods and services and spread repayments over time. However, there seems to a universal problem of reckless lending by lenders, which results in financial distress for borrowers. This is a problem in South Africa, where approximately 40% of consumers have impaired records. Similarly, in the UK, the FCA released two papers (CP17/27 and

I was fortunate enough to attend the #SingularityU PPS members forum recently. It was probably the most inspirational and professionally produced seminars I have been to. Singularity’s mission is to educate, inspire, and empower leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges. There were a number of SingularityU faculty members presenting on subjects ranging from Bionics to Robotics to AI to Augmented and Virtual Reality. This short document a

Great article by Bob Rose in the Business Day yesterday on Executive Pay. Good to see steps being taken to reduce the discrepancy between huge executive pay packages and wages being paid to workers. "This week, a draft rule was proposed in Britain’s parliament with great significance for some of the largest companies on the JSE — including Anglo American, British American Tobacco and Investec — that have a dual listing on London’s stock exchange. This rule will force all Lond

We are extremely proud to announce our latest investment in POS finance startup Payflex. Payflex allows the consumer to shop now and pay later (4 installments over six weeks) with no interest charge. Digital point-of-sale lending has emerged as a new category of lending to help consumers finance new spending and to help merchants reduce basket abandonment. By partnering with merchants and embracing digital technologies, disruptors like Affirm, Bread, and Klarna are competing

As set out in my blog on financial inclusion on 6 May, financial inclusion is the adoption, usage and sustainability of financial services. Boston Consulting Group's report on financial inclusion covered the full suite of basic financial services, including transaction accounts, savings, credit and insurance. The report measures adoption, usage and sustainability of these basic financial services. With four products and three assessment criteria, there are 12 areas of measur

https://www.inclusiveaccounting.com/single-post/2017/09/04/An-age-of-economic-soul-searching This article suggests dumping GDP as the holy grail and setting a “far more ambitious and global economic goal: meeting the needs of all within the means of the planet” . Very similar to what Lorenzo Fioromonti is proposing in his book, the Wellbeing Economy. " https://lorenzofioramonti.org/ . It is paradoxical that high crime rates in South Africa are good for GDP, because we spend a

In BCG's most recent Sustainable Economic Development Assessment, SA, scored relatively poorly - ranking 149th out of 162 countries - in its ability to convert wealth into well being. one way to improve well being is through financial inclusion - the adoption, usage and sustainability of financial services. https://www.bcg.com/en-za/d/news/12april2017-adam-ikdal-167097 https://www.bcg.com/publications/2017/globalization-improving-financial-inclusion-south-africa.aspx