The European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) signed the Guarantee Agreement on a European Union budget guarantee of €19.65 billion to support investment projects across Europe Investments under the InvestEU programme will focus on four policy areas: sustainable infrastructure; research, innovation and digitisation; small and medium-sized businesses; and social investment and skills. The European Commission and the EIB also signed the InvestEU Advisory Hub agreement which will provide up to...

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In this week’s Roar, we’re covering Ukraine and the fall out for supply chains, stress pushing air cargo rates up, more bad news for fuel, President Biden pledging to take on foreign ocean carriers, and a renewed case for blockchain in the supply chain. The list of disruptions that have resulted from the conflict in Ukraine spans borders and modes, and is growing. Carriers are shutting down operations in Ukraine until further notice, including DHL, A.P. Moller-Maersk, FedEx, and UPS. ...

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As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to intensify, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians fleeing westward to the EU’s eastern borders are being welcomed in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. From there, the refugees are being distributed across European continent. And in a sign of strong EU action on managing the massive refugee stream, Interior Ministers signed off on the Temporary Protection Directive on Thursday evening, giving Ukrainians the right to live and work in the European Union for...

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CIOs are making these considerations to create alliances with a subset of strategic suppliers. Questions to ask: As you plan for your industry’s transformation (or future challenges), what capabilities do you or your clients lack? Where are your potential partners headed, and at what levels are they investing in new technologies? When will you be ready to migrate into that next level of trust relationship? During times of change, those who are able to establish trusted relationships often emerge stronger, better...

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Nothing is more fickle than information exchange: it changes colour under EU competition rules depending on the nature of the relationship between the exchanging companies. The distinction becomes particularly blurry in relationships that go beyond the traditional horizontal and vertical ones, such as in dual distribution, where a supplier sells goods or services both directly and through independent distributors. The increased use of dual distribution has led the European Commission to re-think the issue of information exchange within these systems....

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Mönchengladbach, Germany (March 1, 2022) - Financial solutions firms Tradewind Finance and Finamco have announced a new partnership to improve factoring services for businesses in Colombia and the surrounding region. The two companies, which specialize in international factoring, a funding technique that converts receivables into capital, will combine their expertise in trade finance and their local and global networks to ensure accessible, effective, and premier financing for Colombian and other Latin American enterprises. Through the partnership, Tradewind, with headquarters in...

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On February 24, 2022, the Commission presented a proposal announced long ago for a Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence that provides for expanded due diligence duties for companies regarding supply chains. Current applicable German law In June 2021, the German legislator passed the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz – Supply Chain Act), which will enter into force on 1 January 2023 The Supply Chain Act initially applies to all industry sectors and to companies with 3,000 or more employees. As...

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There are several payment systems available today to enhance the ease and convenience of making financial transactions. Payment systems continue to be developed and offered by both financial and non-financial institutions with just a few clicks to authenticate and transmit funds. The audience of these newly introduced applications are dependent upon the respective vendors to ensure that all required controls have been implemented to protect the data at rest as well as during transmission. Regulatory bodies have also addressed...

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Blockchain technology is now being referred to as “critical for our nation’s future” by former SEC chairman Jay Clayton1. Harnessing the capabilities offered by this technology are critical to advancing the state of the financial system, bank the unbanked, and generally improve a centuries-old industry rife with convoluted, inefficient processes. Since the introduction of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin around 2009, the concepts of blockchain and cryptocurrency have increased in popularity – and controversy. To many, it’s a ponzi-like “get rich quick”...

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