The Economics of Banking on Women

This report Economics of Banking on Women is based on information gathered in the GBA’s Women’s Market Analytics Survey — the only collection of global banking data measuring the performance of financial institutions serving the Women’s Market, with 4 years of performance data and over 400 data points per institution. This second edition of the report bears out several trends that emerged in the previous edition, highlighting the strong business opportunity the Women’s Market represents.

GBA’s Global Women’s Market Survey
This survey includes data that is self-reported by GBA members, and although it has been
reviewed the data has not been fully verified. Data granularity varies from bank to bank and
in some analyses outliers have been excluded. Therefore, some of the results may include
smaller sample sizes and represent still emerging trends that we will continue to analyze
through the annual compilation of this data. All currency referenced is in US dollars.

See also: Investing in gender equality and women’s economic empowerment
Gender equality is one of the founding values of the European Union.
Projects/Initiatives/Gender

The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi)

We-Fi is a collaborative partnership among 14 governments, eight multilateral development banks (MDBs), and other public and private sector stakeholders, hosted by the World Bank Group. It seeks to address financial and non-financial constraints faced by women-owned/led small and medium enterprises in developing countries.

The founding financial contributors are: Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. These 14 governments have committed over $340 million to launch the facility’s activities.

We-Fi finances projects, programs, and activities that are aligned with its objectives and principles. Project implementation is led by Implementing Partners that are screened and accredited by the We-Fi Governing Committee. Under the first call for proposals, the following MDBs were eligible to apply as Implementing Partners: African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Invest, International Finance Corporation, Islamic Development Bank Group, and World Bank (the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Development Association). MDBs are encouraged to partner with UN agencies, international financial institutions, civil society organizations, business groups, and/or other entities currently working in this field to help implement activities…..we-fi.org/
call-for-proposals-women-entrepreneurs-financ-e-initiative
women-entrepreneurs-finance-initiative-we-fi

WOMEN AND DRUGS

Drug use, drug supply and their consequences.
Cocaine and opium production worldwide hit ‘absolute record highs’ – major threat to public health says UN study. The scourge of opium-based drugs and cocaine are a bigger global threat to public health and law enforcement than ever before, according to the latest World Drug Report, released on Tuesday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
 

Booklet 5 focuses on the specific issues related to drug use among women, including the social and health consequences of drug use and access to treatment by women with drug use disorders; it also discusses the role played by women in the drug supply chain.

Giant Leak of Offshore Financial Records Exposes Global Array of Crime and Corruption

The Panama Papers
Millions of documents show heads of state, criminals and celebrities using secret hideaways in tax havens.

A massive leak of documents exposes the offshore holdings of 12 current and former world leaders and reveals how associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies.

The leak also provides details of the hidden financial dealings of 128 more politicians and public officials around the world.

The cache of 11.5 million records shows how a global industry of law firms and big banks sells financial secrecy to politicians, fraudsters and drug traffickers as well as billionaires, celebrities and sports stars.

These are among the findings of a yearlong investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other news organizations….. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

Clarity on Financial Crime in Banking

Not only Switzerland as an international financial center is exposed to huge risks from financial crime. This is increased by outdated transaction monitoring systems, inadequate approaches to Know Your Customer and poorly determined risk appetites…..
Clarity on Financial Crime in Banking/KPMG

The impacts of financial crime on Switzerland’s banks
Financial crime has very real, significant implications for Swiss banks. The impacts are clearly visible when looking at key statistics around notifications and offences.
Clarity on-Financial Crime in Banking/STUDY

 Women Networks Fight Against Corruption and MoneyLaundering

The World’s Largest Tax Haven? Guess Who

All the Money in the World /

For decades, the United States has been one of the leading destination havens for wealthy individual offshore investors.

Q: “So where else do you advise clients to set up their offshore companies and trusts?”

A: “We think Delaware is pretty good. They have over a million companies and trusts there, and no beneficial ownership registration. No one can find you.”

—Senior partner, leading Panama law firm, money laundering conference, 2008

By now we (should) all know that global trade wars, as well as imperial wars, can be costly. But the high costs of global tax competition, deregulation wars, and financial secrecy wars have received much less attention. Unfortunately, at current course and speed, such wars may well proliferate. Furthermore, the United States, which has long prided itself on being one of the world’s leading proponents of progressive taxation, multilateral cooperation, and stiff sanctions for white-collar financial crime, is now actually leading this race to the bottom…..The American Interest reports:

The Worlds Largest Tax Haven- Guess Who / James S. Henry

Money Laundering Risks Are Increasing

The Council of Europe anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing body MONEYVAL has published its General Activity Report for 2017.

Presenting the report to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 30 May, the Chairman of MONEYVAL, Daniel Thelesklaf, pointed out that it is evident that the threats of being exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing are increasing. He also stressed that countless cases of money laundering are being reported by the media and brought to the attention of the general public.

“The lack of transparency of legal entities and trusts persist and international cooperation is still not working as effectively as it should be. We also need to improve information-sharing with the private sector and across borders”, he said.

Moreover, the Chairman underlined the need for more specialised training for investigators and prosecutors and to involve prosecutors at the early stages of investigations.

In 2017 MONEYVAL continued its role as an international global player in the global network of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing bodies and actively monitored 21 jurisdictions through the adoption of mutual evaluation reports, including onsite visits, or follow-up reports.

Daniel Thelesklaf, President of Moneyval : Intervention by the Chair
Chairman´s presentation to the Committee of Ministers. MONEYVAL Annual Report

 

The High Cost of Gender Inequality in Earnings

The world is losing out to the tune of $23,620 a person by failing to pay women and men equally, according to the World Bank. Gender pay gap costs global economy $160tn, says World Bank study- GenderInequality

Analysis of lifetime earnings across 141 countries suggests failure to reward women and men equally generates huge global loss. A chalkboard line graph featuring male and female figurines demonstrates the gender pay gap.

Gender equality would enrich the global economy by an estimated $160tn (£120tn) if women were earning as much as men in the workplace, a study by the World Bank has found….Theguardian.com

Unrealized Potential: The High Cost of Gender Inequality in Earnings

Rodrigo de Matos
www.w-t-w.org/en/rodrigo-de-matos/

Financial Inclusion Suffers From A Gender Gap

Women & Banking: India’s financial inclusion suffers from a gender gap
Indian women score disproportionately low on ordinary functions such as savings and borrowings: of more than three-fourths who have a bank account, less than a fifth (16.7%) save formally, i.e., at banks.

The World Bank recently published the results of its The 2017 Global Findex database, the third in the series from 2011. Findex surveys provide valuable information on financial inclusion and behaviours across countries. For India, the acceleration in account ownership (Jan Dhan Yojana) has already been highlighted, as has the extremely low utilisation: 80% Indian adults now have a bank account—27 points higher than the 53% estimated in Findex 2014 round, which showed 17 points addition to the 2011measure (35%). The fast progress is accompanied by higher inactivity as 48% of accounts saw no deposits or withdrawals in 2017, compared to 44% in 2014. This gap in access and usage is even more telling for females, where evidence indicates inclusion policies providing entry to formal finance fail to bridge gender inequalities, for which specific, broader intervention efforts are needed….

Abundant global evidence about low female presence in formal financial markets has spurred international efforts for improvement, acquiring developmental focus at various forums. Financial inclusion of women was specifically integrated into the G20’s global development agenda (2012) and features in its action plan to achieve its commitment to reduce the gender workforce participation gap by 25% by 2025 (25 by 25); it figures indirectly in gender equality and female empowerment goals of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals; while the World Bank and IMF have actively gathered evidence and promoted research to help formulate appropriate policies in recent years…. financialexpress.com

 

Invest in Women and Girls

As CEO of the Global Fund for Women, Musimbi Kanyoro works to support women and their ideas so they can expand and grow. She introduces us to the Maragoli concept of “isirika” — a pragmatic way of life that embraces the mutual responsibility to care for one another — something she sees women practicing all over the world. And she calls for those who have more to give more to people working to improve their communities. “Imagine what it would look like if you embraced isirika and made it your default,” Kanyoro says. “What could we achieve for each other? For humanity?” Let’s find out — together.

About the speaker
Musimbi Kanyoro · Women’s rights activist

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro is globally recognized for her leadership of organizations and initiatives that advance health, development, human rights and philanthropy for communities, specifically for women and girls.

    1. 10 Reasons to Invest in Women and Girls
  1. More inclusive government. If you’d like to see less fighting among your elected officials, encourage women to run for public office. According to USAID, countries where women hold at least 30 percent of political seats are more inclusive, egalitarian and democratic.

  2. Improved public service delivery. The next time you’re frustrated by poor roads or a lack of potable water, vote for a woman. USAID reports that women’s political participation increases cooperation across party and ethnic lines and government responsiveness to citizens.

  3. Greater farm production. The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization found that by empowering women farmers with the same access to land, new technologies and capital as men, crop yields could be increased by as much as 30 percent.

  4. Fewer hungry people. When women succeed, society succeeds. Nowhere is that more clear than in food production. In that same report, the Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that a 30 percent boost in production can reduce the number of hungry people by 150 million.

  5. Increased buying power. As the World Bank’s chief economist, Lawrence Summers said, “Investment in girls’ education may well be the highest return investment available in the developing world.” Each year of secondary school boosts a girl’s future earning power by roughly 20 percent.

  6. Stronger economies. Educating a girl pays dividends for her family and her country, too. According to USAID, when 10 percent more girls go to school, a country’s GDP increases on average by 3 percent.

  7. Fewer child deaths. Women who are educated are better able to take care of themselves and their children. According to UNESCO, a child born to a mother who can read is 50 percent more likely to live past age five.

  8. Less HIV/AIDS. For UNICEF, education is essential to slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS. That’s because girls who are better educated are less likely to engage in casual sex.

  9. Fewer conflicts. When women’s lives are valued, their experiences considered and their voices heard, better outcomes prevail. Through its peacekeeping operations, the UN has found that when women are included, deadly conflicts can be avoided.

  10. More lasting peace. Women have an important role to play in driving reconciliation and reconstruction. According to the UN, including women in conflict negotiation and peacebuilding efforts can lead to more widely accepted and durable peace agreements…Young African Leaders Initiative