Aliya Shibli

1 week ago | thebanker.com | Aliya Shibli

NatWest has changed how it defines women in its employment advertisements after The Banker reported that the lender’s work experience ads could be deemed unlawful under current UK law. The UK bank has now revised the wording about who is eligible to apply to its women-only programme and has removed the reference to the self-identity principles, which brought legal risk.

2 weeks ago | thebanker.com | Aliya Shibli

Clarity could encourage more banks to seek crypto licences © BloombergThe UK government has published its long-awaited draft legislation for the regulation of crypto assets, in a significant step forward for the development of the sector in the UK. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced on Tuesday that the government plans to bring forward final crypto asset legislation at the “earliest opportunity”, following industry engagement with the draft provisions that were published the same day.

3 weeks ago | thebanker.com | Aliya Shibli

The World Bank’s private sector lending arm failed to ensure that its agribusiness borrowers complied with its own climate-related lending requirements, according to an analysis of loans made by the International Finance Corporation over the past five years.

4 weeks ago | thebanker.com | Aliya Shibli

Commercial banks are edging closer to gender parity but the pipeline of female talent remains fragile, with recent diversity, equity and inclusion rollbacks by firms putting progress at risk. According to this year’s Gender Balance Index, the proportion of women in banks’ executive and C-suite positions remains below 30 per cent, with the share of female chief executives totalling less than 15 per cent.

1 month ago | thebanker.com | Aliya Shibli

Banks are more inclined to finance companies with clear climate transition plans as the broader shift away from fossil fuels continues, yet at the same time they are seeking to maintain their fossil fuel exposures. A survey of 350 financial firms across 13 countries found that 72 per cent of respondents — including 104 commercial banks — say they have no intention of reducing their exposure to the fossil fuel industry over the next 10 years.