Invested: The OMFIF Podcast

With COP26 completed and new commitments established, what more can be done to reduce carbon emissions, reach net zero and implement measures to protect natural capital? In this podcast, Emma McGarthy, head of policy analysis at OMFIF’s Sustainable Policy Institute, talks to David McNeil, director and head of climate risk at Fitch Ratings, on the latest developments in carbon-offset markets and the work Fitch is doing in this space. They discuss pricing, tools and policies required to scale the market, how carbon credits fit into capital markets as a financial instrument and the role carbon-offset can play in emerging markets to meet the costs of adaption and mitigation.

Daniel Hardman, principal ecosystems engineer at SICPA, joins Philip Middleton, deputy chairman of OMFIF and chair of the Digital Monetary Institute, for a discussion centered around the lessons learned in their work with offline CBDCs. They delve into several topics including the models which facilitate the offline exchange of digital cash, the impact of the pandemic in increasing the need for offline payments and making offline payments secure against digital counterfeiting, fraud and other types of cybersecurity risks.

 

With SWIFT’s plans to fully adopt the common electronic data interchange platform underway, what are the implications of the ISO20022 standard on the wider financial industry? Rishi Tinaikar, business innovation lead in Asia Pacific at SWIFT, joins Jamie Bulgin, relationship director within OMFIF’s Institute for Economic and Monetary Policy, to consider why adoption is important, some of the likely innovation possibilities the standard provides as well as the broader impact on banks and other financial institutions.

 

Following a steady deterioration in China-US relations over four years under President Donald Trump, global attention turned to President Joe Biden and the direction he will take the relationship in. The new administration has been far more hawkish than many experts predicted, maintaining the hard-line policies of the Trump era. While the rhetoric has changed, explicit criticism of Beijing has continued on everything from Hong Kong to the treatment of the Uyghur community in Xinjiang. While Biden concentrates on strengthening US influence in the Indo-Pacific, the impasse continues with competition standing in the way of even clear areas of alignment. This panel discusses the economic and geopolitical outlook for China, as well as the risks that the country faces going into 2022.

Speakers:
Dave Rank, Former Chargé d’Affaires, US Embassy in Beijing
George Magnus, Associate, University of Oxford China Centre
Helen Qiao, Managing Director and Chief Economist for Greater China and Head of Asia Economics Research, Bank of America Merrill Lync

This is taken from a live panel, recorded on 03/11/2021. View the recording here. 

In partnership with the British Embassy in Madrid and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the UK, OMFIF convened two panel discussions on sustainable finance. Speakers focused on how Spain and the UK can work more closely to deliver the COP26 private finance hub strategy, as well as a wider global perspective ahead of COP26 in November.

In this podcast, the focus is on net zero and the future of green finance:

• Alex Michie, Head, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero
• Marta García de Oteyza, Responsible Banking Senior Manager, Banco Santander
• Ángel Martínez-Aldama, President, INVERCO  
• Hugh Elliott,  British Ambassador to Spain and Andorra,  British Embassy in Madrid
• Simon Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, Chartered Banker Institute

They delve into the role of sustainable finance as a potential key theme of the COP26 summit, the most impactful UK and Spanish policies for mitigating climate-related financial risks, the development of the COP26 private finance hub strategy and the role of public-private partnerships in transitioning to sustainable finance.

The video recording of the meeting can be viewed here.

Listen to part 1 here. 

 

The continued growth in digital currencies - whether as a means of payment, investment asset or hedge against the dollar - continues to upend the traditional financial landscape. Jesse McWaters, global head of regulatory advocacy at Mastercard, joins Patricia Haas Cleveland, OMFIF's US president, to discuss the key drivers of the growth in cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and CBDCs and implications for the evolving payments system, regulatory challenges, and public-private sector collaboration.

As central banks navigate a world of inflation amid the Covid-19 recovery, the European Central Bank is at the heart of the debate. With the Bank of England signalling a rise in interest rates, will the ECB hold steady? Ellie Groves, managing director, Economic and Monetary Policy Institute, OMFIF, is joined by Brigitte Granville, economist and professor of international economics and economic policy in the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London, director of the Centre for Globalisation Research and author of Remembering Inflation (Princeton University Press, 2013). They discuss the new environment central banks find themselves in, the expanding mandates of central banks with the risk of climate change and the political reality the ECB is operating in – especially as we get close to the French election.

Wolfram Seidemann, chief executive officer of G+D Currency Technology, joins John Orchard, CEO of OMFIF, for a discussion about the need for programmable central bank digital currency. They delve into issues such as the role of Covid-19 in accelerating CBDC development, requirements needed for a CBDC, use cases for programmability as a feature of CBDCs, where should the programmability logic lay and the potential for programmability to incentivise CBDC user adoption and to drive innovation.

With a focus on green investments, gas infrastructure and economic development, John Orchard, OMFIF’s chief executive officer, talks with Erlan Idrissov, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the UK, and James Martin, co-chairman of the board of directors at the Astana International Financial Centre, on the impact of Covid-19 on the Kazakhstan economy, it’s road to recovery and investment focus over the medium term. They discuss the need for an ESG focus and how Kazakhstan is aligning with global standards to attract investors.

Since its launch in 2017, the Absa Africa Financial Markets Index has shone a crucial light on the opportunities for investment in region. As Africa looks to build back better after the Covid-19 crisis, the 5th edition of the index, compiled by OMFIF, is more important than ever. It is a vital part of policy-makers’ and market participants’ toolkit in this process and a benchmark for international investors looking to commit to the region.

Recent progress in building robust financial markets in the region helped many countries withstand the economic shock, but it also revealed that there is still a lot more room for improvement. Countries’ immediate need for resources to support fiscal policies during the crisis and the rapid withdrawal of international capital emphasised the importance of building local markets with sufficient depth and liquidity to withstand external shocks.

The events of the past two years also heightened awareness of climate change, and the power of capital markets can be harnessed to achieve efforts to combat it. As a result, this year’s pillars incorporate indicators that gauge how financial markets in the region are incorporating sustainability considerations.

This podcast is an extract from the live report launch, hosted on 13/10/21.

Watch the presentations of findings here.

Download the report here.