News

Retail
Apparel Producers Prep for Shrinking Sales as Consumers Cut Back
June 19, 2023

Clothing brands are reportedly cutting back on orders in anticipation of weakening sales. As Bloomberg News reported Friday (June 16), factory owners say they’ve seen significant declines in retailers’ holiday orders, with at least one company that works with major brands expecting a plunge in...

Banking
SVB Customers in Asia Still Stuck With Outstanding Loans
June 19, 2023

Silicon Valley Bank customers in Asia are reportedly facing dual headaches following the lender’s collapse. These customers had their deposits seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and — as The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday (June 19) — still have outstanding loans...

B2B Payments
Buy Now Expanding B2B Platform for Japanese Fashion Industry Worldwide
June 18, 2023

Buy Now is expanding its B2B platform for the Japanese fashion industry worldwide. Formerly called FORSEE and focused on connecting Japanese designer brands with domestic vendors, the platform is evolving into FORSEE CONNECT and will make those brands available to international buyers, Buy Now said in...

Cross-border Payments
Afreximbank Expects Up to 20 Countries to Use Pan-African Payment System by Year’s End
June 18, 2023

As many as 20 countries may be part of a pan-African payment system by the end of the year. African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) President Benedict Oramah said the bank expects the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to have between 15 and 20 countries participating by that time, the Financial...

Banking
Original SVB Securities Team Plans to Buy It Back, Excludes MoffettNathanson
June 18, 2023

A management team bidder group plans to acquire SVB Securities from SVB Financial Group. The bidder group is led by SVB Securities CEO Jeff Leerink and backed by The Baupost Group, according to a Sunday (June 18) press release. Upon closing the transaction, which is subject to final confirmation from the...

Retail
Petco and Snoop Dogg Play on Rapper’s Pooch Persona in New Campaign
June 17, 2023

Snoop Dogg and Petco have teamed up for a new pet health ad campaign that features the rapper portraying a humanized version of a Doberman pinscher. Through the campaign, Snoop Dogg highlights his preferred choices from Petco’s selection of treats, toys and beds, aiming to...

Artificial Intelligence
OCC Head: AI Offers Banks Benefits and Risks as It Is ‘Built to Learn’
June 16, 2023

For Michael J. Hsu, the acting U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, the potential benefits of using widespread artificial intelligence (AI) in banking “are significant.” But so too are the risks, he said Friday (June 16) in a speech at the American Bankers Association’s Risk and...

Security & Fraud
How Banks and Merchants Make Payments Easy While Keeping Them Safe
June 16, 2023

Today’s new digital operating environment is ripe with opportunities for payment innovations. It is also rife with pitfalls due to the incumbent operators and the emergent innovators increasingly finding themselves facing a uniquely 21st-century quandary. Either they can make transactions as easy and seamless as...

Banking
FDIC Readies Sale of SVB’s $460 Million German Business
June 16, 2023

Beginning next week, bidders will get the chance to purchase Silicon Valley Bank’s German business. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is set to open a data room on June 20 to qualified bidders for the bank’s $460 million German asset portfolio, according to a sales announcement from the...