Global ETF News Older than One Year
Equity fund managers retreat from European banks
June 27, 2020--Allocation to lenders drops to its lowest level for at least a decade
Uncertainty about the scale of potential financial losses caused by coronavirus has accelerated a retreat from the European banking sector by global equity fund managers who have cut allocations to these lenders to the lowest level for at least a decade.
Actively managed global equity fund managers have reduced their exposure to European banks from 2.6 per cent at the start of 2018 to just 1.1 per cent, a record low according to Copley Fund Research. The consultancy examined data from 406 global equity funds with combined assets of $760bn dating back to January 2011.
Source: FT.com
IMF-A Crisis Like No Other, An Uncertain Recovery World Economic Outlook Update, June 2020
June 25, 2020--Global growth is projected at -4.9 percent in 2020, 1.9 percentage points below the April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated, and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast. In 2021 global growth is projected at 5.4 percent.
Overall, this would leave 2021 GDP some 6½ percentage points lower than in the pre-COVID-19 projections of January 2020. The adverse impact on low-income households is particularly acute, imperiling the significant progress made in reducing extreme poverty in the world since the 1990s.
As with the April 2020 WEO projections, there is a higher-than-usual degree of uncertainty around this forecast. The baseline projection rests on key assumptions about the fallout from the pandemic. In economies with declining infection rates, the slower recovery path in the updated forecast reflects persistent social distancing into the second half of 2020; greater scarring (damage to supply potential) from the larger-than-anticipated hit to activity during the lockdown in the first and second quarters of 2020; and a hit to productivity as surviving businesses ramp up necessary workplace safety and hygiene practices. For economies struggling to control infection rates, a lengthier lockdown will inflict an additional toll on activity. Moreover, the forecast assumes that financial conditions-which have eased following the release of theApril 2020 WEO-will remain broadly at current levels.
Source: IMF
IOSCO consults on AI/ML guidance for market intermediaries and asset managers
June 25, 2020--The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions is requesting feedback on proposed guidance to help its members regulate and supervise the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) by market intermediaries and asset managers.
The use of these technologies may benefit firms and investors, such as by increasing execution speed and reducing the cost of investment services. However, it may also create or amplify risks, potentially undermining financial markets efficiency and causing harm to consumers and other market participants.
Source: IOSCO
ETFGI reports assets invested in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a new record of US$82 billion at the end of May 2020
June 25, 2020--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETFs/ETPs ecosystem, reported today that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of US$4.33 billion during May, bringing year-to-date net inflows to US$28.53 billion which is significantly more than the US$7.19 billion gathered at this point last year.
Total assets invested in ESG ETFs and ETPs increased by 10.4% from US$74.03 billion at the end of April 2020 to reach a new record of US$82 billion at the end of May, according to ETFGI’s May 2020 ETF and ETP ESG industry landscape insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
Assets invested in ESG ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached a new record of $82 Bn.
YTD through end of May, ETF/ETP listed globally gathered a record level of net inflows of $28.53 Bn
Source: ETFGI
IMF-World Economic Outlook Update, June 2020-A Crisis Like No Other, An Uncertain Recovery
June 24, 2020--Global growth is projected at -4.9 percent in 2020, 1.9 percentage points below the April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated, and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast. In 2021 global growth is projected at 5.4 percent. Overall, this would leave 2021 GDP some 6½ percentage points lower than in the pre-COVID-19 projections of January 2020.
The adverse impact on low-income households is particularly acute, imperiling the significant progress made in reducing extreme poverty in the world since the 1990s.
As with the April 2020 WEO projections, there is a higher-than-usual degree of uncertainty around this forecast. The baseline projection rests on key assumptions about the fallout from the pandemic. In economies with declining infection rates, the slower recovery path in the updated forecast reflects persistent social distancing into the second half of 2020; greater scarring (damage to supply potential) from the larger-than-anticipated hit to activity during the lockdown in the first and second quarters of 2020; and a hit to productivity as surviving businesses ramp up necessary workplace safety and hygiene practices. For economies struggling to control infection rates, a lengthier lockdown will inflict an additional toll on activity.
view the IMF-World Economic Outlook Update, June 2020-A Crisis Like No Other, An Uncertain Recovery
Source: IMF
IMF FinTech Notes-Distributed Ledger Technology Experiments in Payments and Settlements
June 24, 2020--Summary:
Major transformations in payment and settlements have occurred in generations. The first generation was paper-based. Delivery times for payment instruments took several days domestically and weeks internationally. The second generation involved computerization with batch processing.
Links between payment systems were made through manual or file-based interfaces. The change-over period between technologies was long and still some paper-based instruments like checks and cash remain in use. The third generation, which has been emerging, involves electronic and mobile payment schemes that enable integrated, immediate, and end-to-end payment and settlement transfers. For example, real-time gross settlement systems have been available in almost all countries. DLT has been viewed as a potential platform for the next generation of payment systems, enhancing the integration and the reconciliation of settlement accounts and their ledgers. So far, experiments with DLT experimentations point to the potential for financial infrastructures to move towards real-time settlement, flatter structures, continuous operations, and global reach. Testing in large-value payments and securities settlement systems have partly demonstrated the technical feasibility of DLT for this new environment. The projects examined analyzed issues associated with operational capacity, resiliency, liquidity savings, settlement finality, and privacy. DLT-based solutions can also facilitate delivery versus payment of securities, payment versus payment of foreign exchange transactions, and efficient cross-border payments.
view the IMF FinTech Notes-Distributed Ledger Technology Experiments in Payments and Settlements
Source: IMF
Reopening from the Great Lockdown: Uneven and Uncertain Recovery
June 24, 2020--The COVID-19 pandemic pushed economies into a Great Lockdown, which helped contain the virus and save lives, but also triggered the worst recession since the Great Depression. Over 75 percent of countries are now reopening at the same time as the pandemic is intensifying in many emerging market and developing economies.
Several countries have started to recover. However, in the absence of a medical solution, the strength of the recovery is highly uncertain and the impact on sectors and countries uneven.
Source: IMF
Long-term Climate Strategies Critical to Ensuring Sustainable Recovery for Countries, Says New World Bank Report
June 24, 2020--Report identifies key economy-wide actions for long-term decarbonization
Long-term climate strategies that look ahead to 2050 can help countries unlock new economic opportunities while also ensuring a safer climate, says a World Bank report published today.
The World Bank Outlook 2050: Strategic Directions Note proposes a whole-of-economy approach to reaching decarbonization by mid-century through actions across sectors, including food systems, energy, transport, water systems and low-carbon cities.
view the World Bank Outlook 2050: Strategic Directions Note
Source: World Bank
BIS encourages central banks to continue adapting to the challenge of digital payments
June 24, 2020--Rapid reshaping of payment services requires central banks to keep evolving as they support the safety and integrity of the payment system.
Changes are generating interest in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which deserve consideration as additional means of payment.
Covid-19 has spurred contactless payments while highlighting shortcomings in payment systems, especially for the poor and unbanked.
Central banks, as guardians of the safety and integrity of the payment system, must keep evolving to meet the challenge of rapidly accelerating digital innovation, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) writes in its Annual Economic Report.
Source: BIS
Basel Committee proposes amendment to capital rules for non-performing loan securitisations
June 23, 2020--Proposal sets out a prudent treatment for securitisations of non-performing loans with a risk weight floor of 100% for these exposures
Proposal addresses a gap in the regulatory framework and was being developed before Covid-19
Comments on this technical amendment welcome until 23 August
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published today the technical amendment Capital treatment of securitisations of non-performing loans. This proposal, which the Committee started developing before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, addresses a gap in the regulatory framework and sets out a prudent treatment for securitisations of non-performing loans.
Source: BIS
