Finance

Guidelines in place to support green finance

Published

3 years ago

June 8, 2022

Guidelines in place to support green finance

The sales space of China Beijing Inexperienced Trade is seen throughout an expo in Beijing. [Photo/China Daily]

Lately launched tips will considerably enhance the diploma of consideration paid by China’s banking and insurance coverage sectors to the work associated to inexperienced finance, thus enhancing efforts to foster low-carbon and sustainable growth, specialists stated.

The China Banking and Insurance coverage Regulatory Fee lately introduced that it has issued inexperienced finance tips, requiring banks and insurers to advertise inexperienced finance at a strategic degree, cut back the carbon depth of their asset portfolios in a gradual and orderly method, and ultimately obtain carbon neutrality of asset portfolios.

Banks and insurers ought to enhance assist for the inexperienced, low-carbon and round economic system, stop environmental, social and governance dangers, embrace ESG necessities into their administration processes and complete threat administration techniques, strengthen ESG disclosures, and enhance related insurance policies, mechanisms and course of administration, the CBIRC stated.

The regulator required banks and insurers to regulate and improve their lending and funding insurance policies to assist vitality saving, air pollution and carbon emissions discount, inexperienced progress, and catastrophe prevention in key sectors and fields, and promote the appliance of inexperienced and low-carbon applied sciences.

Banks and insurance coverage corporations must take completely different measures in gentle of varied conditions, guarantee the event of some industries whereas proscribing the expansion of others, and keep away from “one-size-fits-all” measures and “campaign-style” carbon discount, the regulator stated.

Du Hongxia, a member of the China Banking Affiliation’s professional working group devoted to selling the banking sector to assist China’s twin carbon objectives, stated the lately revealed inexperienced finance tips might be traced to the identical origin as inexperienced credit score tips issued by the regulator in 2012, which aimed to encourage banking establishments to develop inexperienced lending companies and undertake stronger environmental and social threat administration.

The brand new tips will play an essential function in supporting the event of inexperienced finance as government-led tips will successfully deal with challenges to market effectivity. As well as, the regulator has expanded the scope of monetary establishments following the rules from banks to insurers, Du stated.

Giant State-owned industrial banks and a few main nationwide joint-stock industrial lenders have carried out quite a few explorations of inexperienced finance and developed a whole set of enterprise growth methods and implementation mechanisms in numerous elements, together with organizational buildings, enterprise procedures, data disclosure and threat administration. Many small and midsize banks, nonetheless, shouldn’t have clear enterprise methods that assist organizational buildings or core capabilities within the space of inexperienced finance, stated Zeng Gang, deputy director-general of the Nationwide Establishment for Finance &Improvement.

“By issuing new tips, the regulator goals to require every kind of banks and insurance coverage corporations to develop a full set of institutional techniques to bolster the event of inexperienced finance and enhance their complete capabilities on this subject. It desires to make sure that the whole banking and insurance coverage sectors will develop into extra systematic, regulated and standardized by way of providing monetary companies amid China’s inexperienced transition,” Zeng stated.

The regulator will promote greatest practices in these sectors and encourage extra banks and insurers to maneuver the associated enterprise ahead, he added.

On the finish of the primary quarter, China’s excellent inexperienced loans in yuan and foreign currency reached 18.07 trillion yuan ($2.71 trillion), up 38.6 p.c year-on-year, in accordance with the Individuals’s Financial institution of China, the nation’s central financial institution.

The whole quantity of China’s home labeled inexperienced bond issuance exceeded 1.5 trillion yuan as of April 28. Over 30 p.c of home inexperienced bond issuers got here from the monetary sector, and greater than half of home inexperienced bond traders had been industrial banks, stated the UBS International Wealth Administration’s Chief Funding Workplace in a report on Might 16.

The typical annual progress fee of China’s new inexperienced bond issuance since 2017 was 72 p.c. The funds raised had been primarily invested in renewable energies, low-carbon transportation and water assets, the report stated.

Finance

Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq fall after Christmas break

Published

5 hours ago

December 26, 2024

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Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq fall after Christmas break

US stocks fell Thursday as trading resumed after the Christmas holiday, as Wall Street digested one of the only economic data points of the week.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was down 0.3% while the the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) declined 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lost 0.4%, leading the way down.

Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD) slumped, falling below the $96,000 level as volatile trading continued. Crypto-linked stocks like MicroStrategy (MSTR) tracked the declines.

Markets looked to be struggling in a bid to extend the start of the “Santa Claus rally,” which kicked off with a bang on Tuesday. All three major indexes rose around 1%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) are within striking distance of their records after clawing back gains from a Fed-fueled dive last week.

As Wall Street saunters back from its holiday break, the normally routine release on weekly jobless claims took more of a spotlight than usual, as the only piece of the jobs puzzle on the docket this week.

Labor Department data released prior to the market open showed weekly jobless claims fell to 219,000 compared with expectation of 223,000. However continuing claims surged to 1.19 million in the week ending December 14 to the highest level since November 2021, in a sign the labor market may be cooling.

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Finance

Former Finance Manager of Historic Sotterley Charged with Embezzlement of $15,000

Published

14 hours ago

December 26, 2024

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Former Finance Manager of Historic Sotterley Charged with Embezzlement of ,000

Angela Marie Hanson, 52, of California, Maryland, has been indicted on charges of embezzlement and theft following allegations of financial misconduct during her tenure as Finance Manager for Historic Sotterley, Inc. According to court documents, Hanson is accused of stealing nearly $15,000 over a five-month period from October 31, 2023, to April 15, 2024.

Hanson, who oversaw financial operations at the historic property, is scheduled for her initial court appearance in the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County on January 13, 2025. She faces a felony charge of theft scheme involving $1,500 to $25,000, a misdemeanor embezzlement charge, 50 counts of theft between $100 and $1,500, and 17 counts of theft under $100.

Authorities allege that Hanson misappropriated funds using a debit card linked to Historic Sotterley’s “Museum Shop” account. Over 50 ATM withdrawals and several unauthorized purchases were reportedly made at local businesses, including gas stations and convenience stores.

Court filings claim Hanson also transferred funds between Historic Sotterley’s accounts to conceal her activities. Investigators allege that Hanson continued these actions even after her employment ended in February 2024.

The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation, which included reviewing banking records, witness testimony, and surveillance footage. Historic Sotterley’s Executive Director identified Hanson as the only individual with access to financial systems and administrative rights during the period in question.

Investigators state that surveillance footage shows Hanson conducting ATM withdrawals using the organization’s debit card. When questioned by law enforcement, Hanson acknowledged managing Historic Sotterley’s finances but denied any intent to defraud.

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Finance

The Secret to Making Successful Financial New Year’s Resolutions – NerdWallet

Published

1 day ago

December 25, 2024

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The Secret to Making Successful Financial New Year’s Resolutions – NerdWallet

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

The start of a new year can bring a surge of motivation around setting new goals, including financial resolutions.

One way to help those goals become reality, financial experts say, is to make them as specific as possible. Then, track your progress, while allowing flexibility for unexpected challenges.

“It’s easier to track progress when we know where we are going,” says Sylvie Scowcroft, a certified financial planner and founder of The Financial Grove in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

That’s why she encourages her clients to set clearly defined goals, often related to paying off a specific debt, saving a certain amount per month or improving their credit score.

Here are more tips from financial experts about crafting 2025 financial goals:

Pick your top priorities

Trying to accomplish too much can feel overwhelming. Instead, pick your priorities, says Cathleen Tobin, CFP and owner of Moonbridge Financial Design in Rhinebeck, New York.

She suggests focusing on those big, often emotionally-driven goals to find motivation.

“It’s more compelling than just a number,” she says. For example, do you want to make sure you’re on track for retirement or save money for a house? “Start there.”

Be as specific as possible

Scowcroft says she sees clients get tripped up by selecting overly broad goals, such as “get better with money.” Instead, she encourages people to select specific action items, such as “sign up for a budgeting tool and set aside time each month to learn where my money is going.”

That level of specificity provides direction so you know what steps to take next, she adds. For example, if your top priority is to become debt-free, then your specific goal might be to pay off an extra $200 of your debt balance each month.

Tobin says labeling savings accounts so they correspond with goals can also help. An emergency fund could be named something like “Peace of mind in 2025,” so you remember why you’re saving every time you make a transfer.

“It’s more motivating than just ‘emergency fund,’” Tobin says.

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Monitor your credit, track your spending and see all of your finances together in a single place.

Track your progress

Measuring your progress as the year unfolds is also a critical component of successful goal setting, Tobin says.

She compares it to weight loss. If you want to lose 20 pounds by June, then you need to lose about a pound a week for the first six months of the year. Similarly, she says it helps to break savings goals into microsteps that specify what you need to do each week.

Schedule a weekly or monthly check-in with yourself to make sure you are meeting those smaller goals along the way. You might want to review your debt payoff progress or check your credit score, for example.

“Being able to break it down into steps that can be done each week or twice a month really helps,” Tobin says.

Automate where you can

If your goal is to save more money, then setting up an automatic transfer each month can help turn that goal into reality, as long as you know you have the money in your checking account to spare.

“It reduces the mental load,” says Mike Hunsberger, CFP and owner of Next Mission Financial Planning in St. Charles, Missouri, where he primarily supports veterans and current members of the military.

He recommends starting small to ease into the change.

“I wouldn’t jump to double what you’re currently saving,” he says. For example, when it comes to saving in a retirement account, if you’re starting with a 3% contribution, you might want to bump it up to 4%, then slowly increase it from there.

“My number one piece of advice is to start small, but make sure you scale over time,” Hunsberger adds. “Because it’s gradual, you probably won’t notice it impacting your lifestyle.”

Adjust as needed

“Stay flexible,” Scowcroft says. “Part of it is just being kind to yourself and not being too rigid.”

When unexpected challenges come up, such as a big unplanned expense, you might have to pause making progress on your goal and reset.

You might even need to change your goal. Scowcroft says that doesn’t mean you “failed,” just that life changed your plans. Dwelling on any negativity won’t help your forward progress.

Team up with a friend

Sharing your goals with a friend can also make it easier to reach them, Scowcroft says.

“It really helps to have an accountability buddy,” she says.

She suggests putting a regular “money date” with your friend on the calendar so you can ask each other how you’re doing, brainstorm any challenges or even budget together side-by-side.

“It’s a fun excuse to meet up with a friend.”

Get more financial clarity with NerdWallet

Monitor your credit, track your spending and see all of your finances together in a single place.