CFI.co Meets the Regional CEO of Britam: Stephen Wandera

Engagement, diligence, care and integrity are the guiding principles of Britam Regional CEO Stephen Wandera. Optimism is another of his character traits: “I believe that the scale of possibilities is almost endless, provided there is good leadership. Leaders are found throughout society. You have leaders at home, at work and pretty much anywhere in between. I am most fulfilled when meeting, or indeed exceeding, the highest expectations of my stakeholders in business and those at home. I also derive satisfaction from demonstrating to society that such a level of excellence can be attained by focusing on engagement and diligence.”

Mr Wandera thrives on the daily challenge of providing, through Britam, life-changing solutions to his customers; in the process adding value to both the company and to the wider society. “I must really add that I also wish to be the good husband and father my family expects me to be. Actually, this is what excites me most of all.”

Continued Learning

In order for success to be sustaining, Mr Wandera believes in continued learning: “That learning may not take place in the classroom but classroom work does come into the equation sooner or later. People can be successfully developed into entrepreneurs. Opportunities can be identified and seized through the training of people who would not otherwise have ventured into business.”

For Mr Wandera, failure is not necessarily a bad thing: “Entrepreneurs can be successful or they can fail. We celebrate success but often forget those courageous souls who failed. Failure does not in itself mean that the entrepreneur lacked business skills. Business has inherent environmental risks that can torpedo even the best.”

This is where insurance incomes into play. Events that Britam readily insures against – such as earthquakes or terrorism – have put paid to many businesses that were not adequately prepared. “Most entrepreneurs fail more often than they succeed. It is persistence and sheer providence that contribute most to their ultimate success.” For Mr Wandera, business insight is a valuable gift that guides entrepreneurs towards the market whether they are in farming, trading, practicing law, engineering, medicine, physics, or any other trade or profession.

The Early Years

From the age of five, Mr Wandera has called Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, home. Before that, the young Mr Wandera lived in different districts of the country as his father, a civil servant, was reassigned to from one posting to the next. “I was born in Naivasha and later lived in Kisumu, Bungoma, Kerugoya and Nakuru.”

The defining moment, however, came a bit later in life. “In fact, there have been many defining moments, beginning with my appointment as a class monitor in nursery school - can you imagine? Throughout my life, I was always entrusted with some leadership role such as head prefect, head boy or leader. In all honesty, the most defining moment of my life was the acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Saviour in 1986. Everything has been moving upward ever since.”

Mr Wandera has enjoyed the benefits and dedication of a great many mentors throughout his professional life. One, however, towers above all others: “Benson Wairegi, my Group CEO, stands out in his brilliance, maturity, humility, wisdom and generosity.”

Mr Wandera’s personal growth was positively impacted by his exposure to the Round Table Movement, a source of lifelong friends and a venue that allowed for extensive travel. Yet again, he was destined to lead this movement. “I was happily introduced to Round Table by my then boss after I showed interest. I have grown from graduate entry level to my current role where I combine being CEO in Kenya with oversight of our insurance companies in the region.”

Few Regrets

Mr Wandera had actually wanted to become a university professor but was dismayed with the treatment meted out to dons at the time. A friend mentioned the great opportunities available in insurance. The rest, as they say, is history.

Paying close attention to the hiring of staff, the Britam CEO looks for young people who have put in the effort and dedication required to clearly excel at school or at work. “We also look for people who can align positively to our value set. These are always the best candidates.

Though Britam grew steadily in the 1980s and 1990s, Mr Wandera feels that the company might have done even better were it not for an, at times, rather adverse business environment. “There was one year when government borrowing through treasury bills propelled annualized interest rates to 73%. You can imagine the implications for businesses: No liquidity for the equity market, no funds for business growth, impossibly high borrowing rates, inflation etc. That was not fun.”

After working at Britam for over twenty years, Mr Wandera has few, if any, regrets and doesn’t think he’d do things any different the second time around. “The organization did change considerably over these last two decades. Once again, the company finds itself on the cusp of a quantum leap in scope and capabilities. This will introduce a very exciting new customer proposition and propel us to leadership in financial services in the region.”

Britam already operates in Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda. In every country in the region, the company’s CEO anticipates providing a broad range of excellent insurance, financial, investment and property services.


CFI.co Meets the CEO of A&C Development Company: Andrew Asamoah

Andrew Asamoah is a brick-and-mortar kind of guy. He thoroughly likes real estate, loves the construction process and has a passion for anything with walls that is topped by a roof, preferably an elegantly looking one. He might have become a builder, architect or developer but instead went to law school and eventually collected a slew of post-graduate qualifications in public administration, human resource development, and public relations and journalism.

To satisfy his cravings for bricks and such, he built his first house at the age of 26. Predictably enough, it didn’t stay with just one home. Today, Mr Asamoah owns a number of luxury homes in Kumasi and Accra, Ghana. During the three decades he was employed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Mr Asamoah expanded his personal real estate portfolio with properties in the United Kingdom, The United States and France.

At the WHO, Mr Asamoah steadily rose through the ranks to become Director of Administration and Finance, along the way occupying positions as varied as Director of Career Management, Global Security Coordinator and Director of Personnel. Mr Asamoah also served as an adviser to the WHO Regional Director for Europe and was special adviser to the organisation’s Director-General on Constitutional Matters.

Over the years, Mr Asamoah joined and contributed to the work of a number of professional societies, associations and charitable organizations. He has also written numerous essays and reviews for different publications and journals on management, administrative and legal topics.

However, after 30 years in the diaspora, Mr Asamoah and his family decided to return home to Ghana and contribute toward the development of the country. This was the moment at which Mr Asamoah could allow his passion for the building trades to take over: Supported by his wife Cecilia and their four children, he founded A&C Development – a family-run business guided by the Asamoah’s trademark values of integrity, loyalty and discipline and by the family’s dedication to excellence and teamwork.

A&C Development strives for total customer satisfaction and now counts on the services of an exceptionally talented team of professionals to deliver consistently well-planned and soundly designed real estate projects.

Employing the wide range of management skills gathered both domestically and abroad, Mr Asamoah has built A&C Development into a well-respected, resourced and even widely admired business.

Through A&C Development, Mr Asamoah aims to help give Ghana’s capital city Accra a much-needed facelift: “Accra stands in dire need of modernisation if the city is to become a gateway to the region. Though fast growing, Accra still lacks the facilities and modern infrastructure needed to answer its natural calling.”

Mr Asamoah thinks he might be able to do his part, however modest, and help Accra’s city planners and managers attain the success their sustained efforts merit. As a former career diplomat, Mr Asamoah is aware of the importance of up-to-date commercial venues and leisure facilities when it comes to attracting both casual and business visitors to any given city. This is an area where Accra offers plenty of room for improvement and lots of potential for growth.

As CEO of A&C Development, Mr Asamoah is particularly well-placed to take this bull by the horns. His company now designs, builds and operates shopping malls, leisure complexes and luxury estates through which overseas visitors and Ghanaians alike may enjoy the rich culture of the country.

The facilities are built in such a way as to contribute toward improved family life, decreased inner-city traveling times, avoiding traffic choke points and thus helping decongest roadways. “We need to take a cue from other big cities and move large, multi-purpose shopping venues away from the downtown area. In Ghana most shopping is not available close to where people actually live. We aim to change that and in the process hope to help solve the perennial problem of traffic-jams.”

The first shopping mall built with this vision by A&C Development is almost ten years to date and open for business in the East Legon suburb, about twelve kilometers to the north-east of the Accra city centre. The facility which includes a Shopping Mall, a Business Centre, Fitness and Leisure Centre is a multi million dollar development project undertaken by Mr Asamoah’s company.

In recognition of the above, the Government of Ghana has recognized his achievements by conferring on him the National Honour of the Order of the Volta – Officer - for distinguishing himself in Private Sector Development.


CFI.co Meets the CEO of Nigerian Breweries: Nicolaas Vervelde

Strong demographics, a growing middle class and cultural acceptance: Brewing beer in Nigeria is a most rewarding experience for Nicolaas Vervelde, CEO of Nigerian Breweries – the largest brewing company in the country with over 3,200 employees, eleven brands and eight brewery locations. In 2012, Nigerian Breweries – a Heineken operating company – achieved a revenue of close to NGN 253 billion (EUR1.16bn).

“We strive to be a model corporate citizen with a vision to be a world-class company that enjoys market leadership in its segment. Good product quality, efficient management and strong brand marketing are all keys to the company’s success over its 67 year history. We are driven by a passion not just to satisfy consumer expectations and create excellent shared value, but also to significantly contribute to the sustainability of the society at large,” says Mr Vervelde.

Market Dominance

Nigerian Breweries’ different brands dominate the local market. “We have an exceptionally strong market position: Strong in lager, strong in malt and increasingly becoming stronger in stout. This is the result of years of investments in good brewing facilities and in the people who run them.”

According to Mr Vervelde, 2012 was a year marked by both challenges and excitement for Nigerian Breweries. While energy costs increased and security became an issue in some areas of the country, the year also saw the incorporation into the Heineken fold of Life Breweries Company and Sona Systems Associates. “These mergers were successfully concluded and have now run a full cycle.”

Mr Vervelde is also happy to report that some of Nigerian Breweries’ premium brands received a welcome market boost through well-orchestrated re-launch programmes. “Riding the coattails of this effort, we continue to reap the benefits of the company’s expanded geographical footprint and the marketing innovations it introduced. Consequently, we enjoyed impressive growth in volume and revenue whilst consolidating our market leadership position in the brewed segment of the beverage market.”

Challenges

Nigeria faces a number of environmental and sustainability related challenges. Population growth, increasing youth unemployment and growing insecurity are forcing businesses to adapt the way in which they operate. “As a leading company, we remain resolute in setting the pace for our industry by continuously evolving our processes in a manner that responds appropriately to the changes around us and delivers superior quality and results. We also try to optimise efficiency in resource usage.”

To overcome challenges and help build a better tomorrow, the company introduced a comprehensive plan for action – Brewing a Better Future. “We want to be the world’s greenest brewery company and have set out clearly defined goals to see that ambition realised. We achieved improvements in key performance indicators on water, electricity and thermal energy consumption. The newly-acquired breweries still lag a little behind but we are now getting them up to speed. We have also embedded green fridges as part of our purchasing criteria and ensured that the company’s suppliers sign up to the Supplier Code. So far many have committed to abiding by our values.”

Mr Vervelde also draws attention to the recent introduction of two new sorghum hybrid seed varieties, product of Nigerian Breweries’ research and development efforts. These now fully registered and licensed seeds promise to quadruple yields, dramatically improving the livelihoods of farmers. “This, we hope, will empower local communities, stimulate local economies, reduce costs and ensure supplies while lowering our carbon footprint. Everybody wins.”

Nigerian Breweries has a long-established policy of only using natural ingredients, preferably sourced locally, for the elaboration of its products. The company is also committed to encourage responsible behaviour and moderation among all consumers towards its alcoholic beverage brands. “Over the years we have demonstrated our capacity to lead the industry and win with Nigeria. Now, we are ready to explore emerging opportunities in our collective march to help transform the society”, concludes Mr Vervelde.

Bio

Mr Vervelde joined Heineken in 1984 and has held senior management positions across many Heineken Operating companies across the world. Having managed the Heineken brand in 1986, he was moved to Rwanda as Heineken commercial manager in 1990. In 1993, he was appointed service manager for Heineken Netherlands before moving to Heineken Bahamas for a three year stint as general manager in 1995. In1998 he once again returned to the Netherlands as deputy director for Heineken Africa and Middle East.

Mr Vervelde became regional president for Heineken Africa & Middle East from 2002 to 2003. Under his stewardship Heineken invested over EUR350 million in the Greenfield brewery in Ama in Enugu State, Eastern Nigeria. In 2003, he was appointed GM for Heineken Ireland. Three years later, in 2006, he was made managing director for Heineken Caribbean & Central America. He was appointed MD/CEO of Nigerian Breweries in 2010.

He is the president of the Beer Sectoral Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). He also serves as Director of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.


CFI.co Meets the CEO of Schlumberger: Eke U. Eke

Mr Eke U. Eke joined Schlumberger in 1993. He has gained a vast array of technical and managerial experience from working in a variety of positions and regions across the globe. Mr Eke’s career includes more than thirteen years with the Wireline Business Segment of Schlumberger where he began as a field engineer and worked his way through a number of field and management positions in various countries in the Middle East.

Mr Eke U. Eke then moved away from the operations area and into a position at the Personnel and Human Resources Department where he was the oilfield services training manager for the Middle East and Asia between April 2001 and March 2003. Subsequently, Mr Eke U. Eke held other management positions including that of General Manager of Schlumberger Wireline India between April 2003 and November 2006. In this capacity he was responsible for significant business growth and was instrumental in multiplying revenue streams by an impressive actor.

After his stay in India, Mr Eke U. Eke moved to France as Schlumberger’s marketing manager for Europe, Africa and Caspian Sea Basin. As such he was responsible for driving business development strategies in that vast geographical area between December 2006 and May 2009.

Subsequently, Mr Eke U. Eke moved to an entirely new business arena and work at the Schlumberger Completions Segment headquarters in Rosharon, an unincorporated area also known as Buttermilk Station in Texas, USA. Here he became global business manager for completions reservoir monitoring and control between June 2009 and March 2010. In this capacity Mr Eke U. Eke bore responsibility for technology development and deployment strategy for permanent monitoring and intelligent flow control completions systems.

In April 2010, Mr Eke U. Eke was appointed vice-president and group managing director for the Schlumberger Oilfield Service group of businesses in West Africa with an area of operations spanning no less than sixteen countries. In this role he was responsible for restructuring the business in the region and for the deployment of a strategy that resulted in a resurgence of business growth.

Mr Eke U. Eke is a member of the board of directors of several organizations and institutions. He is married to Stella Eke. The couple has three children.

Schlumberger is the world’s largest oil services company employing well over 120,000 worldwide in over 85 countries. In 2012, the company obtained a net income of $5.6 billion on revenue exceeding of $42 billion.

Traditionally Schlumberger has cultivated a company-wide culture of environmental awareness. In its annual Green Ranking, the US magazine Newsweek placed the company third among its 31 peers. Newsweek commented on Schlumberger’s large-scale efforts at carbon sequestration – a process that stores harmful CO2 underground.

The company derives its name from the French Schlumberger brothers, Conrad and Marcel, who in 1926 founded the Société de Prospection Électrique (Electric Prospecting Company) with the aim of providing wireline services to oil companies.

Today, the business they began spans the globe and provides a wide range of essential and innovative services to oil prospectors and drillers alike. Through a long series of mergers and acquisitions Schlumberger succeeded in expanding its reach across the globe. The company maintains its principle offices in Houston, The Hague and Paris. Schlumberger is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (SLB) and was incorporated in 1956 under Netherlands Antilles’ (now Curaçao, Kingdom of the Netherlands) Law. Schlumberger NV is not treated as a foreign private issuer under the US securities laws and files the exact same public filings as US public companies.


CFI.co Meets the CEO of Dar Al Tamleek: Yasser Abu Ateek

Dar Al Tamleek CEO Yasser Abu Ateek has been with the company since its formation in 2008. Under his expert governance, the company has grown and prospered to become the largest residential home financier in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Dar Al Tamleek is now widely recognized as the fastest growing residential mortgage company in the Middle East.

Prior to joining Dar Al Tamleek, Mr Abu Ateek worked for Riyad Bank (RIBL) where – during a career spanning thirteen years – he concentrated his efforts on corporate investment, learning the nuances of financing in the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Mr Abu Ateek rose through the ranks of the Corporate Banking Division to become an expert in securitization and was instrumental in closing one of the largest Islamic portfolio’s in the history of the bank.

Dar Al Tamleek started operations six years ago with the ambition to become the leading specialist in home financing of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It reached this objective by helping people realise their dream of purchasing a home. “Many did not believe we could successfully compete against established banks and government programmes. However, since that time Dar Al Tamleek has helped over 25,000 family members obtain the comfort and security of a new home,” says Mr Abu Ateek.

Dar Al Tamleek’s corporate philosophy is simple: Concentrate on a core business; educate customers on home ownership; match products to customer needs; and, above all, be responsible and accountable to the clients.

“We are in the business of helping families find their homes in order that they may enjoy their lives. You have to assure customers that their money is placed in the best and safest investments available. For most people, buying a house is the single largest financial transaction of their life. As facilitators and enablers of such a transaction, we take our responsibility very serious.”

Dar Al Tamleek’s top priority is its customers – helping them achieve their dream of home ownership while adhering to the company’s five guiding principles: trusted, specialized, responsible, committed, and flexible. Strict and continuous observance of these principles, make Dar Al Tamleek stand out – and indeed unique – in the KSA property financing sector.

Mr Abu Ateek foresees that the residential housing market in the kingdom is set to more than double in size over the next five years. With a market potential of five million properties – on which fewer than 100,000 mortgages have been written – the competition is intense. Over the past few years, all the major banks have focused on residential financing even though the industry will not be officially created until the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency’s (SAMA) new mortgage regulations have been fully implemented. This is set to happen by the end of 2014.

The coming into force of the new mortgage law represents a significant step in the right direction. It will bring great benefits to the KSA real estate sector over the long-term. The law provides an administrative and legal framework for the real estate mortgage market in the kingdom. The SAMA regulations, and the agency’s implementation of the new mortgage law, should create some fairness in the market by levelling the playing field and eliminating undesirable lending practices.

However, everyone is now jockeying for position but few have enjoyed the advantages Dar Al Tamleek boasts: A 100% dedication to home financing with a sharp focus on serving first-time buyers. Dar Al Tamleek is decidedly not in the business of selling millions of contracts, but rather wants to ensure that people who buy a home stay affordably housed.

“Most Saudis don’t quite grasp the concept of first-time buyers. They want the whole dream realised right away. Sometimes it is difficult to convince them otherwise. However, the industry is on a learning curve and smaller houses are now being offered that better cater to a new way of thinking.”

For the past five years, Dar Al Tamleek has had a zero default record on its home loan portfolio. The company has drawn valuable lessons from the mistakes others made, to create a business that now claims a 12% market share.

The prevailing attitude that guides the company’s business is: We Are Here to Help. This is also the message Dar Al Tamleek delivers to its clients. In practical terms, the message aims to emphasize that the company carefully tailors its financial products to the specific circumstances of individual clients, thus ensuring that their ability to repay loans is not compromised.

Mr Abu Ateek identifies the one key element that continues to drive the success of Dar Al Tamleek: “Every employee is focused on a single objective. This is to provide world-class service to our customers at all times”. Dar Al Tamleek is now exceedingly well positioned for continued success in 2014 and beyond.


CFI.co Meets the CEO of Amaar Group: Munif Treish

Engineer Munif Treish of Ramallah, Palestine, assumed his current position as chief executive officer of Amaar Group in October 2012. Since then his challenge within the organization has been to guide the expansion and coordination of the Amaar Group’s diverse operations, thereby ensuring that the company maintains its key position as the leading real estate developer and investor in Palestine.

Prior to joining Amaar Group, Mr Treish was general manager at the Al Reehan Real Estate Investment Company – a wholly-owned Amaar Group subsidiary – until his appointment as the Amaar Group CEO. In this capacity as Al Reehan’s general manager, Mr Treish was closely involved in the conceptual design, and its subsequent implementation, of the planned neighbourhood that recently welcomed its first inhabitants.

Al-Reehan, on the outskirts of Ramallah, aims to provide a comprehensive solution to the shortage of lower middle class housing units in Palestine by offering high-quality apartments, fully connected to all services, set in pleasantly green surroundings, and close to major urban centres.
Additionally, Mr Treish also played a key role at a number of affiliated companies involved in the continued development of strategic commercial and recreational venues and centres in various Palestinian cities.

Furthermore, Mr Treish has been a consultant to several international entities dedicated to urban planning and infrastructure, and municipal capacity building. For over twenty years, Mr Treish worked for the Al-Bireh municipality as city engineer.

Armed with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University, Mr Treish is a member of the Jordanian and Palestinian Engineering Union.

At Amaar, the experienced engineer is plotting the company’s path to both excellence and sustained growth derived from the construction and management of world-class projects ranging from fully-integrated commercial centres to carefully planned residential neighbourhoods. Under Mr Treish’s expert guidance, the Amaar Group aims to redefine the Palestine real estate sector.

In that vein, Mr Treish was instrumental in the recent launch of Moon City, an ambitious project in the Jordan Valley that entails both residential and commercial estates. Moon City is another development designed to offset the current shortage of developed land suitable for affordable housing in the Jordan Valley. Moon City is not envisioned just as a residential community, it will also include commercial and entertainment facilities that will attract domestic and international tourism.

With unparalleled commitment and drive, the Amaar Group continues to navigate the unique challenges presented by the Palestinian market, and to deliver on the company’s promise of delivering unmatched quality to its customers. This dedication to a job-always-well-done has enabled the Amaar Group to position itself as the real estate developer of choice in the country.

Mr Treish emphasizes that Amaar’s portfolio of pioneering ventures such as the Ersal Centre – the first master-planned commercial hub in Palestine and the group’s flagship project – and the Al Reehan and Al Jinan residential neighbourhoods, now stand as the epitome of the group’s enduring success in creating prime real-estate assets that provide top-quality lifestyle options for customers. In the process of developing the residential and commercial infrastructure of the future State of Palestine, the Amaar Group also creates thousands of employment opportunities and invigorates local ancillary industries.

Mr Treish is convinced that Amaar Group will continue to expand the reach of its property portfolio to include new locations and segments that span the real estate investment spectrum. The group will also continue to focus on its three target segments: Planned residential communities that provide quality affordable housing; commercial centres and hubs that serve Palestinian businesses; and, investments in hospitality projects that boost the nascent Palestine tourism industry and leverage Palestine’s rich and diverse history and the country’s unique setting.


CFI.co Meets the CEO of Euler Hermes GCC: Massimo Falcioni

Massimo Falcioni is the chief executive officer of Euler Hermes in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). As such, he is responsible for the firms’ business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Egypt. In the UAE, Euler Hermes is sponsored by Alliance Insurance PSC while in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sponsorship is provided by Allianz Saudi Fransi Bank.

Mr Falcioni joined the Allianz Group in 2008. Previously, he was central director of Euler Hermes in Italy – the third largest business unit of Euler Hermes Group – and member of the board of Euler Hermes Services. Mr Falcioni gained extensive international experience in various senior management positions for leading multinationals including Exxon-Mobil, Philip Morris International and Volkswagen Financial Services.

An Italian citizen and born in 1967, Mr Falcioni graduated in economics from the University of Rome and earlier this year received two prestigious awards from ME Trade & Export and Finance & Banking Review. Both honours were bestowed on him for the best performance and management of the company’s credit insurance in the UAE.

Euler Hermes established its operations in Dubai in 2006 sponsored in the UAE by Alliance Insurance. The company started operations in Saudi Arabia two years later sponsored by Allianz Saudi Fransi Bank and now distributes in all the other GCC countries through reinsurance agreements with local agents.

Euler Hermes GCC has achieved a premium portfolio, which last year increased by an impressive 40%. This represents a market share of no less than 49%. The company manages over $ 11 billion in exposure. With a combined ratio below 70%, Euler Hermes GCC operations continue to report constant growth with sustainable profitability, showing an adequate commercial underwriting discipline and good risk portfolio management. The retention rates have improved in 2013 from a high 90% in 2012 towards a current 93%.
“The 2013 Euler Hermes development strategy for this region is based on a robust risk appetite and on investments to promote credit insurance solutions that protect companies from unpaid invoices. We are in the process of obtaining a license for direct operations on credit information-related services in UAE,” says Mr Falcioni.

Continuously building on over a century’s worth of experience, Euler Hermes has expanded across the continents to become the world’s largest trade-related credit insurance solution provider. “Euler Hermes’ history is our experience, making us one of the best partners for customers during both bright and difficult economic times.”

“Euler Group Chairman Wilfried Verstraete, together with his board of management, constantly inspires and stimulates all the company’s CEOs and heads of regions towards continued innovation. We also pay much attention to employee engagement. I have continually adapted the Euler Hermes target operation model structure for operations in the GCC countries to better respond to ever changing business expectations,” says Mr Falcioni who adds that, “relying on the solid experience, expertise and knowledge of our group offices, Euler Hermes works as an integrated team to provide tailored, responsive solutions and consistent quality to its customers.”

However, challenges remain: “The biggest task we now face is to educate the market about credit risk. Many traders still consider this to be of secondary importance only. The most important message I have to give is that credit should never be issued without proper insurance coverage”.

“The desired increase of trade credit insurance knowledge and understanding in this region can only happen through constant and continuous education efforts. Last but not least, we need to further strengthen Euler Hermes specialists’ knowledge and expand their ranks through intensive technical training and even better hiring processes.”

The insolvency risk in the UAE is growing as re-exports from the country are further increasing to include food, steel and pharmaceuticals. The GCC countries, and especially the UAE, have proven to be very cost-effective on logistics, labour, energy and other trade inputs. The countries optimal strategic location is another factor contributing to an accelerated growth in the volume and value of cross-border trade. This has led the region to become an ideal centre for re-exports. “But this also exposes traders to additional risk when trading on open credit terms. These increased levels of risk are boosting demand for trade credit insurance solutions which is precisely what Euler Hermes is able to provide from its offices in Dubai and Riyadh.”


CFI.co Meets the CEO of Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz: Alberto Valdés Andreatta

Mr Valdés Andreatta, CEO of Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz (BMSC), was born on March 21, 1966 in Bolivia’s capital city La Paz. After finishing high school in 1983, he attended Utah State University (USU) in Logan, Utah where he obtained a BS degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. From here Mr Valdés Andreatta went on to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech, Pasadena) to pursue a master’s degree. He graduated in 1988 with honours (cum laude).

From the beginning of his professional life, Mr Valdés Andreatta has worked in both the public and private sectors. During the late 1980s, and in the first half of the 1990s, he was employed at different governmental agencies dedicated to the building and maintenance of the country’s infrastructure. Later, Mr Valdés Andreatta was appointed vice-minister at the Ministry of Planning and Finance.

During the latter part of the 1990s, Mr Valdés Andreatta joined Banco Mercantil as the manager of its La Paz branch. From here he went on to become the bank’s finance manager. In 2006, Mr Valdés Andreatta was named chief financial officer (CFO). From this perch, he coordinated the merger process resulting from the acquisition of Banco Santa Cruz.

In 2009, Mr Valdés Andreatta was appointed CEO of the Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz he had helped shape. Now at the head of Bolivia’s largest bank, Mr Valdés Andreatta has permeated his personal values of hard work, coupled to integrity and a highly developed sense of ethics, throughout the entire organization.

Currently, Alberto Valdés continues to lead the bank as not just the largest but also the strongest and most financially solid financial institution in Bolivia. However, challenges remain such as the implementation of an open door culture that will further improve customer service. He also is charged with plotting the expansion of the bank’s reach to include the more remote rural areas of the country.

Mr Valdés Andreatta seeks to keep his bank at the forefront of technological innovation without the institution losing sight of its human dimension in the process. He is confident that Bolivia’s recent spurt of economic growth and development can be sustained over time. This confidence is shared by the bank’s more than thousand shareholders who recently agreed to boost its capital in order to better respond to the opportunities ahead. Over 75% of the bank’s profits were ploughed back into the business to bolster its capacity to respond to the economic upswing.

Though coming from behind, Bolivia is fast catching up with macro-economic numbers that warrant optimism and have never before been seen in the country’s history. The government recently succeeded in eliminating all deficit spending and is now moving toward a budget surplus. The trade balance is in the black with the country’s exports increasing to $8 billion contributing to record levels of foreign reserves – some $12 billion held at the nation’s central bank. GDP growth amounts to 5% while inflation was largely kept in check.

“We are now poised for economic take-off with a government that is fully committed to a growth agenda. At BMSC we are uniquely positioned to contribute to this accelerated growth and reap its benefits,” says Mr Valdés Andreatta.

Rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s awarded BMSC their highest score of AAA for the bank´s domestic operations. Internationally the bank cannot outscore its home country’s rating which recently was notched up a few steps to B+. “This improved rating now enables us to attract foreign clients who are looking to do business in Bolivia and need a serious partner to do so. In Bolivia, we are by far the best and most experienced and agile partner any business could possibly wish for,” assures Mr Valdés Andreatta who predicts good times ahead and, indeed, for the foreseeable future.


CFI.co Meets the President and CEO of SunTec Business Solutions: Nanda Kumar

Nanda Kumar, President and CEO of SunTec, has taken corporate business process management to a new level of dynamism and innovation. His revolutionary ideas in critical IT areas have empowered global companies to meet the competitive and industry challenges inherent to a rapidly changing business environment.

Nanda Kumar is the founder of SunTec Business Solutions, a revenue management and business assurance company trusted by corporations across the globe. Armed with a powerful and compelling vision of the future, and with the courage to challenge the status quo, Mr Kumar has built SunTec Business Solutions into a global leader in enterprise software solutions for the financial services and communication services industries, pioneering technology products that enable and facilitate business transformation.

Mr Kumar dared to think differently and forged a new path for IT enterprises from India. By doing so, he opened up enormous opportunities in global product development. SunTec was formed in 1999 as a one-man business vying with a well-established IT giant for a contract to develop a customised billing and accounting solution for India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Beating the odds, the tiny start-up won the commission and its product – the C-TRA – became the de-facto industry standard. It is now installed in more than 200 sites, covering some ten million customers.

One of Mr Kumar’s strengths as an entrepreneur is the ability to anticipate diverse business needs. His visionary concept was to expand the scope of telecom customer care and billing to multiple domains. SunTec became one of the very few companies to clearly outline the domain of transaction management, switching from the narrow definition of telephony billing to the much wider canvas of transaction management.

Reflecting on his fledgling venture’s success at creating a customer care and billing solution for the DoT, Mr Kumar began to craft both a vision and a global strategy for SunTec: To fill a vacuum for software products, as opposed to merely software services. He challenged his company to develop an innovative product in the transactions space that carried excellent prospects for global expansion.

Mr Kumar’s growth strategy was to develop a flexible transaction management solution that can be adapted across verticals – specifically in the communication, financial services and utilities sectors – where service providers need to address intensified competition by creating a “customer-centric” approach through customised product offerings and innovative pricing strategies.

Having successfully created a market in the communications industry, SunTec set its sights on the lucrative financial services sector.

With his trademark visionary and inspirational leadership and with a relentless drive and entrepreneurial spirit, Mr Kumar not only has transformed a small company into a global player, but also created dynamic prospects for business opportunities across different service sectors. With an exceptional track record of creativity, entrepreneurship and determination, Mr Kumar belongs to that rarefied class of global entrepreneurs who have made a lasting impact on the ways business is created and conducted.

Mr Kumar outlined a powerful global vision of IT leadership for his company, guiding SunTec with focused, long-term strategic thinking coupled to the ability to seize opportunities and maximise rewards by courageously taking calculated risks. He inspired and motivated his staff to reach for excellence and achievement by his personal example of determination, industry and emphasis on teamwork and employee empowerment. Mr Kumar has managed to build a firmly established company with strong personal values and entrepreneurial commitment.

SunTec pioneered the space of Relationship-based Pricing in the financial services sector, transforming the management and control functions within the banking industry. Relationship-based Pricing has been widely endorsed by media and industry analysts alike. With this novel and highly effective approach, Mr Kumar demonstrated a profound understanding of what the market needs. It is worth noting that SunTec created the market for customer-centric pricing in the financial services sector – a method which has now been adopted as standard industry practice.

Currently, Mr Kumar is providing yet another key strategic direction for SunTec’s future growth by his close championing of Enterprise Value Chain Management (EVCM) – the next big development after Relationship-based Pricing. Mr Kumar predicts EVCM will grow into a multi-billion dollar market over the coming years, addressing the critical need of businesses in today’s highly competitive environment for real-time performance monitoring.

Mr Kumar made SunTec Business Solutions into a leading software product company with over 650 employees and operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. He did this by careful product differentiation and expansion, critical market analysis, close observation and gainful deployment of India’s competitive advantage in the IT industry. Through his personal achievements and inspirational leadership, Mr Kumar also has instituted a culture of creativity and innovation amidst a familiar work atmosphere, creating a highly motivated and results-oriented workforce of diverse nationalities and cultures that takes collective pride in excellence, teamwork and constant achievement.


Carlos Slim: Timing Is Everything - Seizing the Moment to Build a Fortune

Estimates of the exact size of his fortune vary, but Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim is up there with the multiple mega rich. Forbes, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal busily add up the billions and rank the founder of Grupo Carso either first or second on their lists of the über-wealthy with a personal treasure chest containing upwards of $67bn.

Of Maronite Lebanese descent and a civil engineer by trade, Carlos Slim built his global empire by displaying an uncanny knack for timing. Mr Slim took his companies public at precisely the right moment, enabling him to not just cash-in on his business acumen but ride the subsequent ups-and-downs of the stock market in lucrative comfort as well.

As the Mexican economy imploded in 1982 when oil prices fell off a cliff and the government subsequently defaulted on its debt, Mr Slim swung into action buying up depreciated assets almost wholesale. Over a three year span, he acquired insurance companies, banks, an aluminium smelter, a department store, a chain of hotels, another one of grocery stores, and large stakes in food and tobacco industries.

 “I don’t wish to live my life thinking how I’ll be remembered.”

As the economy recovered, Mr Slim’s nascent business empire started generating a healthy cash flow. By 1990, he had the wherewithal to acquire the state-owned telephone company Telmex with partners France Télécom and Southwestern Bell. This move in particular would propel Mr Slim to surpass his US peers Warren Buffett and Bill Gates in wealth.

Telmex – and later mobile operator Telcel – drove Mr Slim into the telecom business which he now dominates throughout Latin America and beyond with América Movíl – the world’s fourth largest mobile network operator serving close to 250 million subscribers in 18 countries. América Movíl is currently trying to gain a foothold in Europe where it already owns a 23% interest in Telekom Austria en a 30% share of KPN Telecom in the Netherlands. However, attempts by Mr Slim to fully take over these companies have so far been thwarted by the Austrian and Dutch governments citing “national security” concerns.

Critics point to Mr Slim’s tendency to prosper in relatively closed markets where his companies can set rates and stifle competitors. However, Carlos Slim is not one to heed advice from others or, indeed, play nice: “I don’t wish to live my life thinking how I’ll be remembered.” Even so, Mr Slim is an avid supporter of good causes and has already made sizeable donations, landing him an eminent spot on the World’s Biggest Givers list of Forbes Magazine.


Farrukh Khan, Diwan Advocates: India Joins Madrid System of Trademarks - The Effects

Introduction

[caption id="attachment_6297" align="alignright" width="139"] Author: Farrukh Khan[/caption]

The word ‘trademark’ implies an attempt at recognition of a particular trade. A trademark basically serves two purposes. Firstly, it protects the interests of consumers who otherwise may become confused regarding the manufacturer or originator of any given product. Secondly, trademarks motivate merchants to bring more goods into the marketplace by providing an identity to their product and goodwill. In a very noted case, it was stated as follows:

“Trademark law, by preventing others from copying a source-identifying mark, reduces the customer’s costs of shopping and making purchasing decisions, for it quickly and easily assures a potential customer that this item — the item with this mark — is made by the same producer as other similarly marked items that he or she liked (or disliked) in the past. At the same time, the law helps assure a producer that he/she – and not an imitating competitor – will reap the financial and reputation-related rewards associated with a desirable product.”

“Trademarks motivate merchants to bring more goods into the marketplace by providing an identity to their product and goodwill.”

Trademark is not just attached to the item. In fact, a trademark protects the rights of the merchant and his trade by acting as a source indicator. It is the trademark through which the public recognizes the quality and the characteristics of a particular product. Trademark protection – i.e. the safeguarding of a brand – becomes a necessity in a competitive market where similar trademarks may mislead consumers.

Global Evolution in Trademarks and Competition

When it comes to trademarks and competition, we first need to obtain a global overview. The evolution of trademarks has been very interesting. Schechter has described the evolution of marks by mentioning that kings used to have a mark inscribed on the beaks of their swans so that when the birds flew to some other place, people would conveniently recognize the origin of the animal from its mark. This mark indicated that the swan was a royal one and could not be possessed by any private person unless properly licensed. This is possibly how the purpose of a mark was first established and used as a source indicator.

In order to assess the market power of the owner of any given product, it is essential to first identify the relevant market – with regard to both product and geographical extension – within which this competitive clout exists. A relevant market is defined as follows:
• A relevant product market comprises all those products and/or services which consumers may regard as interchangeable by reason of its characteristics, price and intended use;
• A relevant geographic market comprises the area in which the businesses involved supply products or services and in which the conditions of competition are sufficiently homogeneous.
Once a relevant market is defined, the next step is to measure the market power of the company under consideration, i.e. its power to set prices and otherwise act independently of its competitors and customers. Competitive power is usually gauged by measuring the market share of a product protected under Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) legislation.

Asserting to the fact that there is global competition, the need arises to check whether this competition is sustainable in India. As a contributor to the global economy, India is part of an exchange of interests in this regime of intellectual property rights. The country’s participation in the global economy is legally secured through the protection of trademarks. As an intellectual property right, trademarks are supplemented by a bundle of ancillary rights designed to provide trademark owners exclusivity in a competitive market. These may create barriers to free trade.

India and Its Multinational Guests

In order to claim a right over a particular trademark in India, it is necessary to get that mark registered. This trademark registration provides exclusive rights to the registered proprietor who may then apply it to goods or services. Such trademarks include those of multinational companies since the applicable legislation applies to every mark which is capable of being represented graphically and which thus may distinguish the goods or services of one person or company from others. There is no specific exclusion on the books that so much as mentions multinational companies.

Apart from the relevant Indian legislation, international trademark protection is also extended through the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks which India joined in April, 2013. The greatest advantage to multinational companies of this system is that a one-time trademark registration in any single member country, automatically applies that mark in all. Now that India is a member, multinational companies can register through the Madrid System and claim protection even if they have not separately registered under the Indian Trademark Law.

“...the protection for trademarks of multinational companies is seen to be gradually becoming stronger and ever more efficient.”

Prior to India becoming part of the Madrid System, many multinational companies in India were denied damages due to the fact that their marks were not registered. In the case of American Home Products Corporation vs. Mac Laboratories, the Supreme Court stated that the registration of a trademark confers valuable rights upon its registered proprietor. In this case, no damages were granted. However, the action was considered to be of ‘passing off’ and remedies were granted accordingly.

Well-known trademarks are supposed to be provided with protection because they carry the reputation of both the proprietor’s dedication to quality and his/her identity. Any similar trademark coming up with a feature clearly aimed at the deceit of consumers constitutes a subversion of the original trademark.

Any such deceptively similar trademark is capable to negatively affect the market share of the original proprietor lest protective measures are in place. Indian courts first recognized the concept of trans-border reputation in NR Dongre vs. the Whirlpool Corporation. Following this landmark case, multinationals were able to enforce their trademark rights against infringing entities.

Positive Change

After the decision was handed down, a sudden streak of positive change grew as a sapling for those foreign businesses that required protection for their well-known trademarks. The only thing these foreign entities now need to do is to demonstrate that their trademark carries a cross-border reputation. This demonstration can be done with the help of magazines, articles, web pages, etc. However, a mark can be declared to be well-known in India only by a court through litigation or by the Trademarks Registry in opposition or rectification proceedings.

After obtaining an official declaration that a particular mark indeed is deemed to be well-known, its owner can proceed to claim damages against anyone infringing upon his marked domain. In Kamal Trading Co. vs. Gillette UK Ltd., the defendants were given an injunction by the Bombay High Court and were asked not to use the mark “7 o’clock” as the plaintiff had already acquired an extensive global reputation for that mark.

As we draw towards a conclusion, it is customary to sum up previous research and give a personal opinion. Here, summing up will not set out anything conclusive and a personal opinion is not required. The reason to support the above would be that the protection for trademarks of multinational companies is seen to be gradually becoming stronger and ever more efficient. It has just been a few months since India joined the Madrid System. There is more to come in the months and years ahead on the subject of intellectual property rights and its effects on the nation’s economy.

About the Author

Mr Farrukh Khan (Managing Partner, farrukh@diwanadvocates.com) qualified as an Advocate and joined a leading law firm in Doha as IP Attorney. He later shifted to Spain to work for a Spanish conglomerate as their IP Advisor. He has a wide range of legal experience, and worked on all aspect of IPR. He has noteworthy experience in service to the client with integrated packages of IP standard services in the areas of patent, copyright, trademark, industrial designs, passing off, sports IP, licensing, due diligence, IP monitoring & strategy, drafting opposition & appeals, infringement advices and legal opinions.

Farrukh has extensive experiences in drafting and processing documentations in relation to licensing, assignment, ambush marketing and management of copyrights for events and marketing campaigns.

At the firm his work also encompasses drafting IP policies for variety of businesses from corporate entities to Non-Governmental Organizations. He also advises in reference to basic audits of client’s IP rights, advising on IP enforcement from all sorts of disputes. He manages IP portfolios for a variety of businesses and industries; managing and securing IP rights relating to events, advertisements and marketing communications. Farrukh also advise stakeholders in a positive IP culture and on brand protection in relevant legal frameworks. He is a regular speaker on IPR related forums and conferences and member of several IPR international organisations.


International Property Show Grows 25% - 300 Exhibitors from 80 Countries to Participate from 8 to 10 April in Dubai

Middle East’s built assets to rise by 63% to US$ 8.7 trillion by 2022

Dubai, UAE, 8 January 2014: The 10th International Property Show, which will coincide with the Annual Investment Meeting 2014, from 8 – 10 April in the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, will attract 300 companies from 80 countries.

The exhibition, the biggest since inception that is supported by the Dubai Land Department, has emerged as one of the leading regional real-estate meeting platform for developers, investors and regional and international companies working in this field.

Sponsored by over 80 media partners, the 10th edition of the show has attracted 60% of property developers and 40% of property related sectors.

[caption id="attachment_6309" align="alignleft" width="140"] Sultan Butti Bin Mejren[/caption]

HE Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General of the Dubai Land Department said that the International Property Show provides an ideal platform that brings together developers, real estate brokers, private and institutional investors, major local and international real estate companies, providing a unique opportunity to clinch lucrative business and investment deals.

He added that the growth rates of the real estate sector in the region were very promising. He said: “We are witnessing an extraordinary period and the UAE is a fundamental pillar of this growth. The huge investments being made by local and regional companies in the development of infrastructure are among the greatest not only in the MENA region but also globally.

Dawood Al Shezawi, CEO, Strategic Marketing & Exhibitions, organizers of the International Property Show, said: “We anticipate major regional and international participation in the International Property Show mainly because it is the first edition after Dubai won the bid for hosting Expo 2020. There is growing interest from real-estate developers from all over the world in the local market, especially Dubai, which is witnessing dynamic growth in the construction and infrastructure sectors.”

He added: “We are ready for an extraordinary show in April. We have received encouraging feedback that points to a great show. The UAE real estate market is attracting international companies and service providers that are keen to expand presence in the region.”

"We are ready for an extraordinary show in April."

The previous edition unveiled 12 major regional projects by prominent developers. According to the organizers, this edition will see a higher number of new projects to be launched.

The participating companies include 18 percent from Hotel & Leisure, 17 percent from Commercials and Residential (15%), Offices (15%), Retailers (13%), Urban Development Authorities (12%) and Free Zones (10%).

[caption id="attachment_6307" align="alignleft" width="140"] Dawood Al Shezawi[/caption]

Exhibitors are coming from all over Europe, Asia Pacific and North and South-East Africa. These will include developers involved in the development of residential communities and high-rise buildings, entertainment facilities, retail outlets, financial institutions, banks and investment companies, pension funds, asset management companies, authorities, investment zones and engineers of construction and interior design.

On a relevant note, the Global Built Asset Wealth Index, which quantifies the accumulated wealth of built assets of 30 countries and is conducted by EC Harris in conjunction with the Centre for Economic and Business Research, has revealed that the Middle East real-estate market is expected to witness a built asset increase of 63%, amounting to US$ 8.7 trillion by 2022.

According to this Index, when it comes to built assets wealth per person, the UAE’s built asset wealth stood at $122,809 per person, while in China it was $26,000, which is slightly more than one-fifth of the UAE.

Strategic Marketing & Exhibitions is a leading exposition and conference organizers in the UAE, based in Dubai. The company has grown dramatically and contributed immensely to the exhibition industry, thus gaining reputation as one of the leading experts in all aspects related to the exhibition industry.


Stephen Colbert: Laughing All the Way to the Top - Comedian Airs Truth through Jest

Powerful, Authoritative, Patriot, Honourable, Independent, Courageous, Originalist, Strong, Kingmaker, All-Beef, Influential, Sponsored, Star-Spangled, National Treasure, Self-Evident, Ameriwill!, Principled, Indivisible, Constitutional, Chiselled, Passionate, Worthy, Fearless, Confident, Tallish, Bold, Invincible, High-Fructose, Sanctified.

Welcome to the Colbert Report. Aired four times a week, Comedy Central’s popular news parody suffers no lack of adjectives with which to grab viewers’ attention in its opening sequence. The Report’s co-creator and presenter, Stephen Colbert, makes sure his on-screen namesake lives up to every single one of the qualities advertised.

In September, the show – now in its ninth season – broke The Daily Show’s decade-long winning streak by claiming the Outstanding Variety Series Emmy Award, adding to an already lengthy list of achievements.

Although the Colbert Report is intended as a non-consequential comedy, it now draws more than just laughs: Its unfailingly spot-on humour – spiked with liberal doses of irony, sarcasm and parody – has become an influential source of news in itself. Being featured on the Colbert Report adds to anyone’s political cachet.

In a recent broadcast, Mr Colbert made a mockery out of China’s paltry $100,000 donation to the victims of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and challenged his viewers to “out-donate” China. Within 24 hours of the show’s airing, the challenge had been met and indeed surpassed.

“I’m not here to affect you politically or socially. I’m here to make you laugh. I use the news as the palette for my jokes.”

Whilst filming in Iraq, Mr Colbert, a faithful Christian and a devoted family man, had his head shaved on camera by the then Commanding General of the United States Forces in the Iraq Theatre at the close of weeklong series of broadcasts in support of the troops. The shows were perceived as a great morale booster and received praise from many high ranking US officials.

Mr Colbert has, amongst many others, interviewed President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden. The list of guests is well-neigh endless, ranging from authors to musicians to activists. The “Colbert Bump” – the boost in popularity a guest receives after making an appearance on the show – is now a force to be reckoned with.

Although delivered through comedy, the message gets across and, indeed, is heard globally. Keeping in line with his character, in 2009, the ever-irreverent Colbert got his audience to vote in a NASA poll set up to rename a treadmill on the International Space Station. The device was subsequently christened COLBERT: “Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill”. The COLBERT is expected to stay aloft until 2020.

In 2007, Mr Colbert briefly toyed with the idea of running for the Oval Office but the South Carolina Democratic Party refused his application on the grounds that he “wasn’t a serious candidate”. Indeed, they might have been on to something.

Born in Washington, DC and a graduate of Northwestern University, Mr Colbert is the youngest of eleven siblings. Prior to hosting his own show, he was part of The Daily Show cast and worked with many notable comedians.

His book I Am America (And So Can You!) reached #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list. He is also remembered – fondly or otherwise – for a controversial performance at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in 2006 when he mercilessly targeted the media and then-president George W. Bush who sat but meters away, deftly trying to keep up a faint smile throughout the event.

Mr Colbert has brought joy and laughter to millions of viewers and by doing so has become a hero to the many he has helped, directly or indirectly, through his work. He has also managed to do a lot of good by asking the right questions at the right time, daring to go where other shows fear to tread.

CFI’s Tip of the Hat, then, goes to Stephen Colbert. His Colbert Report may perhaps be summed up in a single saying: Many a true word is spoken in jest.


Global Banking Alliance for Women - GBA: Banking the Female Economy

[caption id="attachment_6350" align="alignright" width="120"] Inez Murray[/caption]

Inez Murray is the CEO of the Global Banking Alliance for Women, a global consortium of financial institutions driving women’s wealth creation. Its 34 member banks work in 135 countries to build innovative, comprehensive programs that provide women entrepreneurs with vital access to capital, markets, education, and training.

CFI: What is the Global Banking Alliance for Women?
Inez Murray: It’s a consortium of banks with programmes and services directed at women. These banks have specific strategies that target women, both as owners of small and medium enterprises and as consumers. Our goal is to make targeting the female economy a mainstream strategy for banks. This will not just advance women’s financial inclusion but will also benefit the estimated eight to ten million very small, small and medium enterprises that are owned by women worldwide.

CFI: Can you please tell us a bit more about the female economy? Why should banks reach out to women?
Inez Murray: Women are currently the biggest growth market in the world. According to a study recently published in Harvard Business Review their earnings are expected to reach $18 trillion globally in the next few years – bigger than the economies of China and India combined. A study by Goldman Sachs shows that women make the majority of household decisions as they relate to the welfare of the children. So for example in the UK, you’re talking about women making 85% of the decisions over kid’s clothing, 80% over food, and 70% over childcare and schools. Women represent a major market opportunity for many corporations – and not just those in the financial sector. In the US, women-owned businesses are growing at a faster rate than their male-owned counterparts do. But there’s also a $300 billion credit gap for women-owned SMEs, particularly in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

CFI: How are data analytics changing the way banks reach the female economy?
Inez Murray: At GBA, we’re basically building the business case for the female economy by getting data from our members on performance. For example, Westpac is an Australian bank with one of the oldest women’s market programmes, and certainly one of the most successful. They reach 2.6 million Australian women, representing an $97 billion market opportunity. And they are actually able to disaggregate their database to show performance statistics, such as women generating higher savings balances in their accounts. Women generally pay back loans at a better rate than men do. Garanti Bank, the second largest bank in Turkey, has found that the proportion of non-performing loans is 50% lower for women-owned businesses than it is for those owned by men, and that the bank’s cross-selling to women is 2.5 times more effective.

CFI: What is “pink washing?”
Inez Murray: Pink washing is claiming to have a gender programme or women’s market initiative, without this really being so. It’s a bit like green washing. For example, we know of a bank with a women’s programme which solely consists of a credit card with a mirror on one side. But there’s nothing in their programme which really benefits women. It’s important to develop a greater understanding of this market but also to develop the metrics to really measure effectiveness. That way, we can ensure that banks don’t get away with pretending they have programmes oriented toward the female economy.

CFI: What do banks need to do to reach women?
Inez Murray: First, they need to understand the market opportunity, including the segments within the female market. So at minimum, we’re talking about SMEs and consumers. Banks typically segment the consumer market by income. On the SME side, you sometimes segment by annual revenues and sometimes by phase of business: Start-up, growth, and expansion phase. Banks need to understand the needs of the segments they serve and create a value proposition for their customers. Next, they need a senior champion inside the bank, who’ll be behind the initiative. And from a delivery and cost perspective, banks need to figure out what they should do themselves and what they should outsource. In many cases we see banks forming strategic alliances with educational institutes, women’s organizations, etc. rather than developing educational programmes themselves.

What we’ve learned from best practices in our network is that women need access to information in order to make decisions. So this isn’t a simple product fix. In fact, it’s rarely about the product; it’s about the execution. For example, women generally need support in improving their levels of financial literacy. Women come in looking for loans as SME owners but often don’t have financial statements prepared.

They also need access to networking opportunities, so most programmes combine educational events with networking. That way, women can network with each other, generate business opportunities, and learn from each other. In some cases, we have programmes that link women clients to market opportunities. Some banks work with corporations to develop supplier diversity programs, making an effort to procure from women-owned SMEs.

For the latest news about banks targeting the women’s market: http://www.gbaforwomen.com/newsletters/current/

GBA Data Analytics: Key Lessons and Results

Data Collection
Although a majority of banks capture the gender of customers, many are not disaggregating data by gender (either because of IT challenges or because they do not understand the importance). In a just released banking survey in Latin America, the Inter-American Development Bank found that half the banks surveyed do not know the gender composition of their SME lending portfolio. Of those that do collect such information, only 28% use it.
By contrast, in a survey conducted by the Global Banking Alliance for Women [GBA members include 34 banks operating in more than 135 countries.] of its members, 80% are disaggregating data by gender. There is strong buy-in on serving the women’s market across its membership. Tracking performance is key to building and maintaining the business case.
Defining women customers can be complicated. This is true for women as consumers as well as business owners. Since many accounts are jointly owned, emerging best practice is to categorize accounts as belonging to women if the woman is the primary account holder. It gets more complicated for SMEs. In the GBA survey, we found that there were a number of variations in the definitions used for women SMEs (for instance, some banks define the gender by accountholder others do so by the ownership percentage of business, by management, or use a combination of these definitions).

Use of Data
GBA members reported using a wide variety of sex-disaggregated measures:
80% of respondents track women SME outreach indicators; 70% track risk levels by gender; 60% track product diversity metrics; and 50% track profitability of their women’s market programme.
Many banks are using more complex customer satisfaction measures that allow them to measure how well they are serving women. For instance, some banks use Net Promoter Scores (NPS), disaggregated by gender, to measure the advocacy rate of both female and male customers as this is a known driver of profitability. They are then able to compare NPS in the market with their main competitors. Products per customer, disaggregated by gender, is an important measure that is also being used.
Some banks use a share-of-wallet measure, which allows them to quantify how much of the household expenditure is being allocated to financial services and to which bank specifically.
Diversity and inclusion measures are widely used and reported by GBA members. We found that 90% of GBA members are tracking women’s staff and management ratios, while 60% are tracking staff promotion and attrition rates by gender.
Social metrics are the least commonly tracked and used by banks. However, many of the current operational and financial metrics tracked by the leading banks are very effective tools for understanding customer needs, behaviour, and aspirations.

Reporting
GBA banks seem to be using women-focused metrics mostly for business optimization purposes, but some do report them publicly and to their board.
There is an opportunity to influence external stakeholders which may exert pressure to introduce regular reporting of women-focused metrics.

Challenges in Tracking Gender-Disaggregated Indicators
A majority of respondents stated that the inadequacy and inefficiencies of systems posed a major challenge.
Other challenges included understanding how to define women owned SMEs, the inability to distinguish between business and personal data, and the lack of awareness about gender-disaggregated data.
Although most banks stated that they disaggregate data by gender, some considered this to be a major challenge.
Sharing of best practice on data collection and metrics, and support in increasing awareness on the importance of gender-disaggregated data among senior management, were factors widely cited in the survey as needed by member banks.

Data Analysis - Building the Business Case
In recent interviews with banks (GBA members and non-members) on the barriers that are faced in serving the women’s market, the GBA found that 80% of the interviewees believed that proving the business case is a key barrier for banks. Many banks also cited segmenting their customer base as a key challenge.
To build its case, the GBA conducted deep-dive analysis with some of its members and found a strong quantitative case for serving women as a distinct customer segment
In our analysis of a select number of GBA members, we found that:
In most cases the risk profile of women is lower than that of men (lower non-performing loans across segments);
Women loans are more profitable (higher return on assets and higher profit margin);
Women tend to have robust balances in their savings accounts, more consistently than men do.
With a women’s market program, some banks are able to grow their women customer base at a level that is twice the rate of men’s;
In established programmes, women’s loyalty and advocacy (as measured by Net Promoter Scores) is higher than men’s.


Sugata Mitra: The Return of the Autodidact - Learning to Trust Students

Professor Sugata Mitra wants anarchy. This professor of educational technology at Newcastle University is hard at work dismantling what he sees as the most robust, yet outmoded, legacy of British rule in his native India - its educational system still geared for empire building.

According to the professor, schools in India rely on rote learning and constant examination to churn out the homogenous mass of human automatons required to man the empire’s most crowning achievement – a bureaucratic machine.

India’s education system has utterly failed to adapt to the advent of both modern society and new technologies. Earlier this year, Professor Mitra was awarded the Ted Prize worth a million dollars to further his school-undermining endeavours.

Professor Mitra is a proponent of Minimally Invasive Education, a system that places particular emphasis on self-organised learning by students with access to the Internet. Teachers are to act primarily as catalysts for learning.

In 1999, while working as an IT teacher in New Delhi, Prof Mitra had a PC with Internet access installed in a slum. He left local children – none of whom had ever used a computer before or spoke any English – to investigate his strange gift.

“People are adamant learning is not just looking at a Google page. But it is. Learning is looking at Google pages. What is wrong with that?”

Eight hours later, he came back to kids playing games and browsing the Internet. Shortly after, Prof Mitra devised a second experiment. He now placed a computer in a village some 300 kilometres outside New Delhi – well out of the way of any computer-literate person. Again, the local children spoke no English, nor had they even seen a PC before. When the professor returned a few months later, he was promptly asked for a faster processor and a better mouse - in English.

Besides his experiments amongst India’s poor, Professor Mitra has implemented a programme known as the “Granny Cloud”: Middle-aged women in the UK give up some of their spare time to instruct small classes in India via Skype.

Professor Mitra’s most significant experiments are possibly those creating Self-Organized Learning Environments (SOLEs). Small groups of students are given Internet access and a big question to answer. Usually within hours, these students will have formulated an elaborate answer. In the process, they learned about disciplines usually considered too advanced for their age. These SOLE experiments are not only performed amongst the poorer segments of developing countries but also in UK classrooms and those of other European countries.

The project for which Prof Mitra has now received the TED Prize is an amalgamation of his previous research. His School-in-the-Cloud plan aims to design a full-fledged self-organised learning facility. It is to be a bricks-and-mortar building in India custom-designed to experiment with a range of cloud-based, scalable approaches to self-directed learning.

Over time, Prof Mitra has attracted his fair share of critics some of whom see his approach as simply dumping hardware in front of unsuspecting youngsters and hoping for some magic to happen. However, the well-documented experiments are gathering impressive, and most of all encouraging, results.

Professor Mitra does not claim that the current school system is broken beyond repair. He simply notes that it is quite outdated. The shape imposed by the present model on students no longer fits their world: “In an age of networks, we need cloud-structured schools, not ones made to look like factories.”


Lowell McAdam - A Nimble Behemoth Enters the Golden Age of Innovation

Big numbers don’t scare Lowell McAdam. The Verizon CEO, sitting atop the largest US telecom provider, in September raised almost effortlessly $47bn through a record-shattering bond issue. The funds enabled Verizon to eject British Vodafone from its wireless operator through an amicable buy-out.

The bond issue was timed close to perfection just as the US Federal Reserve hinted that it might tighten money supply and allow interest rates to rise. Although Verizon’s BBB+ Standard & Poor rating – just a tad into the investment grade realm – obliged the company toward some generosity, investors were quite content to subscribe at just two percentage points over 10-year treasury issues.

Under Mr McAdam, Verizon is doing quite well, if not exceedingly so: For the third consecutive quarter, both the company’s operating income and its earnings per share rose by double digits. Last month, Verizon reported a year-on-year jump in operating income of a whopping 30.0% to $7.1bn. Revenues improved 4.4% as well, underscoring a significant increase in profitability.

For Lowell McAdam these encouraging results are but the tangible consequences of inexorable innovation processes that now revolutionize lives and societies the world over. Mr McAdam is busy placing his company at the forefront of these exciting developments, belying the established creed that corporate behemoths are slow to adapt to changing circumstance in a fast-paced world.

“We are in a golden age of innovation. I am fortunate that my career has coincided with one of the most sweeping technological revolutions that any industry has ever seen.” Not merely a CEO obsessed with the next quarter’s numbers, Mr McAdam happily accepts that serious challenges remain in leveraging the power of the technological tools now available to transform societies: “Equipping biometric devices with wireless technology and cloud networking capabilities, we can shorten the distance between patients and doctors. That same cloud technology can also be used to design and operate smart grids that reduce energy consumption and lower emissions. The possibilities are well-nigh endless”

The Verizon CEO also notes that over 60% of the world’s population is still not connected to the Internet, 80% live on less than $10 a day and over a billion people cannot read a book or sign their name. “Our industry is uniquely positioned to help change that and much more. We can transform individual life in ways that would have seemed miraculous just a year or two ago.” Mr McAdam sees not only business opportunities aplenty, he stands out for recognizing his company’s wider responsibilities as well.


US Political Strife Threatens to Derail IMF Reforms

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been reduced to a bargaining chip. Its request for $63bn (£38.3bn) in additional funding was unceremoniously discarded by the Appropriations Committee of the US House of Representatives where it fell victim to the increasingly acerbic political strife between Democrats and Republicans over a $1.1tn (£670bn) omnibus bill.

Committee Chairperson Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, dryly pointed out that the IMF request fell outside the scope of “responsible use of taxpayers’ dollars”. Mr Hensarling was unmoved by an appeal from Treasury Secretary Jack Lew who emphasised that the IMF only needs $315m (£191m) in new funding to implement its structural reforms. The remainder had already been approved in 2009 and is now merely to be reallocated.

Pundits in Washington suspect Republicans hold the IMF funding hostage in order to force concessions from the Obama Administration on unrelated budget items.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde called the withdrawal of US support “extraordinary and disconcerting”. All former Republican Treasury Secretaries going back to the times of Ronald Reagan signed a statement condemning the rejection of the IMF’s request.

"IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde called the withdrawal of US support 'extraordinary and disconcerting'."

The IMF is currently in the process of doubling its lending capacity to $730bn (£444bn) in the wake of the global financial crisis. The fund is a lender of last resort for countries unable to raise money on capital markets.

In 2010 the US was instrumental in shaping an international deal that allows emerging nations to have a bigger say in the IMF’s governance. This pact is to see China become the third largest member of the fund and also increases the shares of Brazil and India. The US will maintain its veto share.

However, the Washington now runs the risk of not living-up to the deal it brokered. This would deny China and the other emerging powers increased voting power in the IMF. At the 2010 G-20 summit in Seoul, South Korea, the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) were promised a combined share of 12.9% - up one third from the present arrangement.


Ross Jackson: The EU as a Green Powerhouse -  A Green Opportunity

[caption id="attachment_6389" align="alignright" width="144"] Ross Jackson[/caption]

The recent revelations regarding our American allies’ spying on Angela Merkel and other leading EU politicians, raises – once again – some fundamental questions about the differences in values between the US and Europe. In particular, the question of whether the gap between EU citizens’ values and those of the American political leadership have not become so large that it is time for the EU to charter its own course forward based on its own values rather than those of Washington.

Please note that I distinguish between the values of the American leadership and those of American citizens, whom I believe are much more in tune with European values. The US Congress, it would appear, has now been taken over by commercial interests. This was not the case when the embryonic EU came into being. Times have changed, and a serious review of the relationship is in order. So what are the major differences that have emerged over the past thirty years?

The Neoliberal Project

A major shift occurred during the reign of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. This is when neoliberalism emerged as the dominant economic system in the world. It is perhaps too kind to call it an economic system. Former chief economist of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, has called it “more religion than economics”.

Neoliberalism is in reality a political project purposely designed to satisfy the wildest dreams of the largest multinational corporations, enabling them to operate globally with little or no regard for political boundaries, the environment or the social consequences of their business. The result, after three decades, has been a total disaster for the environment; created never-before-seen inequalities in wealth and income; and, failed to deliver any net improvement in well-being for ordinary citizens, either in the USA or elsewhere.

“The really dangerous aspect of neoliberalism is that it puts our global civilization on a suicidal track due to the risk of irreversible, runaway global warming.”

However, it has been a resounding success for the 0.1% of wealthiest Americans who saw their inflation-adjusted income increase by a stunning 390% over the period 1979-2007. The lowest 90% of Americans saw their takings increase by just 5% over the same three decades. Under neoliberalism, we are all working for the 0.1% in what now resembles a second coming of feudal times.

European Values

In the meantime, most European citizens – as opposed to most Americans – have by and large maintained a broad sense of social solidarity as reflected in their preference for the welfare state with its free education, medical care, job security and old-age safety nets. This stands in sharp contrast to the prevalent American winner-take-all mentality.

[caption id="attachment_6397" align="alignleft" width="259"] EU Parliament Building[/caption]

Generally speaking, Europeans have a far greater respect for the environment than Americans do. Most recognize their duty as stewards to protect the environment and hand it on to the next generation in good shape. In considering the balance between material wealth and quality of life, most Europeans lean toward the latter. Europe is a more equal society, with far better health standards, less stress and lower health costs, which, according to recent research, is a direct result of greater social equality.

However, the European political leadership – no doubt under the influence of the multinationals whom the EU commission tends to consult on a regular basis – has until now tended to accept neoliberal economics as-is and passively abides by American values and leadership. This has created a deep divide between the EU’s political leadership and the citizens of the union. This gap is perhaps best illustrated by the significant divergence between the European Parliament on the one hand and the European Commission on the other. The divide also came to the fore as a number of nations – Denmark, France, Netherlands and Ireland – rejected proposed treaty changes in plebiscites. If more European countries allowed their citizens to vote on the ceding of sovereignty to the supra-national EU, these differences would be even more pronounced.

Europeans citizens usually value a high degree of local democracy and are thus sceptical about any proposed transfer of power to what is perceived as a far-away central government in Brussels. Even so, the powers-that-be in Brussels now determine about 80% of the rules governing what once were fully sovereign states. This arrangement is quite profitable for multinational corporations, but is also slowly destroying the European welfare state as more and more jobs are exported to low-cost, environmentally and socially destructive production abroad.

“Neoliberalism is in reality a political project purposely designed to satisfy the wildest dreams of the largest multinational corporations, enabling them to operate globally with little or no regard for political boundaries, the environment or the social consequences of their business.”

There is no level playing field between multinationals and smaller local producers. The latter may market a higher quality and more environmental-friendly product or service, but are unable to compete on price with the multinationals’ sweatshops and their political clout, transfer pricing, intra-company loans and extensive use of tax havens. Multinationals often also lack any real sense of responsibility for the social and environmental consequences of their corporate practices and policies. The key to the multinationals’ success is not that they are more efficient – or smarter – than local producers; but the fact that they are allowed to pass on a major part of their real costs to taxpayers in the countries where they produce and in those where sell their wares.

This is a battle that cannot be won by either small-scale EU businesses or by European citizens without major economic and financial reforms that will re-establish the control of individual nation states over their economies, environments and social priorities.

Threat to Survival

The really dangerous aspect of neoliberalism is that it puts our global civilization on a suicidal track due to the risk of irreversible, runaway global warming. Some drastic action on reducing global CO2 emissions is required.

A major barrier to change is that the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – a major tool of the neoliberal project – penalize any individual state that dares introduce higher environmental standards at home, as the EU attempted to do with its CO2 quotas. The relevant rule says that no member state can impose tariffs on an imported product simply because it has been produced with lower environmental standards than those domestic producers face.

This WTO rule offers the simple explanation for the fiasco of the CO2 quota program. The EU did not set a sufficiently high price on CO2 emissions because there was no way to protect domestic producers from lower-cost foreign imports. As a result, CO2 prices were lowered to the point where their effect was negligible. This is one WTO rule that almost guarantees a race to the bottom, which will probably end with an uninhabitable planet and a mass die-off of species, including our own.

In the meantime, no help can be expected from the US, where multimillion dollar propaganda campaigns funded by multinationals have by now convinced 50% of Americans that global warming is not the work of humans. This opinion stands diametrically opposed to the conclusion of the world’s leading climate experts who write in their most recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report that it is now 95% certain that mankind bears responsibility for global warming. In the meantime, the US administration – under the spell of those very same multinationals – is not about to take any climate initiative that would be detrimental to the profits of its financial backers.

A Historical Opportunity

Currently, the EU is the one global power that has the economic muscle to lead global society onto a new path of environmental responsibility. It is a historic opportunity for Europe to show its true colours. It requires, first and foremost, a definitive break with neoliberalism and its institutions. It also requires a new social pact with its citizens.

This is not the right time for negotiating a new free trade agreement with the US which would only serve to further strengthen multinational corporations and create yet more inequality. Rather, it is the time – perhaps even the first time ever – for European politicians to follow the lead of the people rather than trying to lead their nations where they do not wish to go.

Such a new social contract would release an enormous amount of energy if the political leadership could truly engage in an exercise of local democracy, asking their citizens what they want, and implementing the outcome of such an exercise. I have little doubt that the people will vote for a cleaner environment, a more egalitarian society, meaningful work and solidarity – even though it may mean less consumption due to a smaller ecological footprint.

A Reinvented EU

What might a reinvented EU – one that prioritizes sustainability, equality and solidarity above economic growth – look like? In my recent book Occupy World Street, I have described in a fair degree of detail the kinds of policy changes and new institutions that would be necessary. The internal EU changes would be minor at first, while some of the recommended external changes are summarized briefly here.

New Trade Organization

The EU would have to collectively leave the WTO. The new principle of EU trade would be that the union decides unilaterally what goods are allowed or not allowed into the trading bloc. Foreign commercial interests would lose their say in this. Trade levels will generally be lower than today’s with most essential goods being produced domestically in a revival of local communities. Tariffs or outright bans would be put on foreign industrial products that do not live up to EU environmental standards. This EU policy would put direct pressure on the bloc’s trading partners to upgrade their environmental and social standards.

Capital Controls

Capital flows in and out of the EU (over a certain minimum) would be subject to controls. This will reduce the risk of foreign speculative attacks and the spread of foreign financial crises, while giving greater control over the kind of foreign investment coming into the EU. Such a system was the international standard from roughly 1946 to the early 1980s without any negative effect on either trade or growth.

Climate Initiative

The EU should initiate a cap-and-trade system for CO2 emissions, with an absolute ceiling on member state emissions (including imported products), and with an annually declining ceiling. The high cost of emissions will stimulate investment in new green technologies by domestic producers. These, in turn, will be protected from low-standard foreign producers by tariff walls. Other nations will be invited to join. Non-member states will face a major hurdle if they want to trade with the EU. Hopefully this will eventually lead to universal participation.

Clearing Union

The EU should propose implementation of John Maynard Keynes’ Clearing Union proposal of 1945 to settle international trade. All currencies would be put on an equal footing for the first time, as opposed to today’s reality in which the role of the US dollar as major liquidity source for trade settlement is creating major international imbalances. The system can be started up with just a few members initially. Due to the importance of the euro, the initiative is likely to receive a positive reception.

Conclusion

This may be a once-in-history opportunity for the political leadership of one region to take an initiative – in the interests of all of humanity – that can redirect the entire direction of a civilization towards a positive and long-enduring period of economic and social justice.

About the Author

Ross Jackson is chairman of the charitable association Gaia Trust, Denmark, major shareholder of organic foods wholesaler Urtekram, and author of Occupy World Street: A Global Roadmap for Radical Economic and Political Reform, (Chelsea Green, 2012).


Lars Peter Hansen: Professor Pleads for Acknowledgment of Knowledge Gap

Professor Lars Hansen is the first to admit that even in economic science, certainties are few and far in between. In fact, the Nobel laureate has dedicated a large part of his life in academia to the study of uncertainties and how they affect markets.

The “too-big-to-fail” argument, that prompted governments to massively intervene in the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown, is a prime example of a call to action not quite grounded in immutable certainties. “We do not really understand how turmoil in the financial market spills over into the wider economy but perceive the existence of a significant risk. This has proven enough of a motivator for governments to spend untold billions propping up faltering financial institutions.”

Mr Hansen, professor of economics at the University of Chicago and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences 2013, is an econometrist at heart and as such a number cruncher. However, not all numbers are created equal and some might be educated guestimates at best. Statistical analysis thus becomes an exercise in approximation which in turn causes wavering and scepticism among decision makers.

Together with Professor and 2011 Nobel Laureate Thomas Sargent of New York University, Mr Hansen is now applying his research of uncertainty to the recent financial crisis and the measurement of the systemic risks that drove government action at the time. Professors Hansen and Sargent are particularly interested in expanding upon the notion of Knightian Uncertainty: A risk that is impossible to calculate, as defined by the late University of Chicago Professor Frank Knight (1885-1972) who argued that uncertainty is radically distinct from the notion of risk, “from which it has never been properly separated.”

Knightian Uncertainty may also be applied to questions such as global warming: “Our knowledge of climate change impacts remains rather sparse. It may be prudent to act now because any delay might prove costly later. However, it is critical to recognize that we are designing and implementing policies based on limited knowledge.” Professor Hansen proposes the adoption of simple solutions to complex problems: “It might prove a wise course of action to devise straightforward, transparent and rather unpretentious policy frameworks to start tackling any given complex issue. As we learn more and obtain more certainties, those policies may be fine-tuned.”

As it concerns the oft-heard calls for more stringent financial oversight mechanisms in the wake of the 2008 crisis, Professor Hansen fears that they can end up doing more harm than good. “It’s not that we don’t stand in need of better supervision, but rather that we are now devising rules based on a poor understanding of how derailed capital markets affect macroeconomics. I would rather see simple capital requirements imposed on banks than subject them to an almost incomprehensibly large and complex set of rules of dubious efficacy.”