Latest news with #Banking
Zawya
2 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Afreximbank Appoints Dr. George Elombi as Next President
The shareholders of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) ( have appointed Dr. George Elombi as the next President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the continental financial institution. He becomes the fourth President to lead the Bank since its establishment in 1993. His appointment was one of the key decisions of the 32 nd Afreximbank group annual meetings and associated events held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 25 to 28 June, with the formal annual general meeting of shareholders taking place on Saturday, 28 June 2025. He succeeds Professor Benedict Oramah, who has served as President and Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2015, and who will be stepping down in September 2025. A Cameroonian national, George Elombi has been with Afreximbank since 1996, joining as a Legal Officer. He rose through the ranks to become Executive Vice President, Governance, Legal and Corporate Services. Over his nearly three decades at the Bank, he has served as Director and Executive Secretary (2010–2015); Deputy Director, Legal Services / Executive Secretary (2008–2010); Chief Legal Officer (2003–2008); and Senior Legal Officer (2001–2003). Prior to joining Afreximbank, he taught law at the University of Hull, United Kingdom. Dr. Elombi played a pivotal role in establishing Afreximbank group's structure, including the formation of key subsidiaries that have expanded the Bank's capacity to deliver on its mandate. As Chair of the Emergency Response Committee, he led the Bank's response to the COVID-19 crisis, mobilising over $2 billion for vaccine acquisition and deployment across African and Caribbean nations. Under his supervision of the Equity Mobilisation and Investor Relations department, the Bank's total ordinary equity mobilised amounted to USD 3.6 billion as at April 2025. In his acceptance speech, Dr. Elombi expressed a deep commitment to the Bank's mission and future, stating: 'I have worked alongside remarkable colleagues and extraordinary leaders to help shape this institution's vision, its mandate as well as its growth. As we look to the future, I see Afreximbank as a force for industrialising Africa and for re-gaining the dignity of Africans wherever they are. I will work to preserve this important asset.' He accepted the shareholders' desire as expressed by his predecessor to make the institution a US$250 billion bank in ten years. Dr. George Elombi holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the London School of Economics, University of London, and a Ph.D. in commercial arbitration from the same university. He obtained a 'Maitrise-en-Droit' from the University of Yaoundé in 1989. His appointment followed a rigorous selection process initiated in January 2025, which included a global call for applications published in international media and on the Afreximbank website. Shortlisted candidates were interviewed by an international human resource executive search firm. The top candidates were presented to the Board of Directors, which recommended Dr. Elombi to the General Meeting of Shareholders for final approval. Under the Afreximbank Charter, a president is appointed by the general meeting of shareholders upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors for a term of five years, renewable once. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank. Follow us on: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Instagram About Afreximbank: African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa's trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2024, Afreximbank's total assets and contingencies stood at over US$40.1 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$7.2 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody's (Baa1), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB-). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, "the Group"). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Jes Staley fails to overturn ban over Jeffrey Epstein links
Jes Staley has failed to overturn a decision by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that he 'recklessly' misled the regulator about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein , in a major setback to the former chief executive of Barclays. In a judgment handed down on Thursday by the Upper Tribunal, judge Timothy Herrington said Mr Staley's behaviour represented a 'serious failure of judgment' and he had 'acted without integrity' by approving a misleading letter from the bank to its regulator. The judge, however, ordered that the £1.8 million (€2.1 million) fine imposed on Mr Staley by the regulator be reduced by 40 per cent to reflect the fact that Barclays had not allowed him to receive deferred shares that he was entitled to. The former Barclays boss had mounted a legal challenge against the ban and fine imposed on him by the FCA in 2023, with a high-profile trial taking place in March. READ MORE Mr Herrington found that Mr Staley had approved a Barclays letter to regulators that he knew contained inaccuracies over the nature of his relationship with Epstein, and that Mr Staley's 'conduct was such that it could have resulted in confidence in the financial system being adversely affected'. The judgment also found that Mr Staley had 'shown no remorse for his conduct'. [ Ex Barclays CEO Jes Staley argues bank had 'clear understanding' of his Epstein ties Opens in new window ] At the heart of the dispute were two representations made by Barclays in a letter the bank sent to regulators in October 2019, which stated that Mr Staley 'did not have a close relationship' with Epstein and that they last communicated 'well before he joined Barclays in 2015'. The FCA opened an investigation into Mr Staley two months later, after his former employer JPMorgan Chase told the regulator it had a trove of documents regarding his relationship with Epstein, which the FCA compelled the US bank to hand over. 'We have noted Mr Staley's achievements as chief executive of Barclays, but in our view these do not diminish the seriousness of the misconduct,' the judgment read. 'The loss of his long-standing career is an inevitable consequence of that conduct.' Mr Staley said in a statement on Thursday that he was 'disappointed by the outcome and the time it took for this process to play out'. IATA Director General Willie Walsh on airline profits, air fares and why the Dublin Airport passenger cap makes Ireland a laughing stock Listen | 35:56 He added: 'I have worked tirelessly for my prior employers for the entirety of my career; I am proud of the support I gave to many individuals during that career and the strategy I developed to help Barclays when it faced immense challenges. The Tribunal recognised what they described as 'my long and distinguished career'.' Barclays declined to comment. Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said Mr Staley had taken 'a calculated risk' and 'hoped that the truth would never come to light and that he would get away with it'. She added: 'Such a serious lack of integrity flies in the face of the requirements we place on those at the top.' – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Ex-Barclays boss Staley loses bid to overturn UK ban over Epstein ties
LONDON — The former chief executive of Barclays Bank, Jes Staley, lost a legal challenge Thursday against a 2023 decision by Britain's financial regulator to ban him from holding senior financial roles in the United Kingdom for misleading it over the nature of his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Times
Jes Staley fails to have ban over Epstein links scrapped
The former boss of Barclays has lost his bid to overturn a decision by the City regulator to ban him from holding senior positions in the financial services for 'recklessly' misleading it about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The ruling by a court in London deals a severe blow to Jes Staley, who had been seeking to salvage his reputation by challenging the findings of an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority, which concluded in October 2023 that Staley had 'acted with a lack of integrity'. The case revolved around a letter that Staley, 68, allowed Barclays to send to the authority in October 2019, in which the bank told the regulator that Staley 'has confirmed to us that he did not have a close relationship' with the sex offender and that his 'last contact' with the paedophile was 'well before' he joined the lender in December 2015. In a 93-page ruling handed down on Thursday, the Upper Tribunal said: 'On the basis of our findings Mr Staley failed to disclose appropriately information of which the authority would reasonably expect notice.' Although it upheld the regulator's decision to ban Staley, it told the authority to reduce a fine it had imposed on the Barclays boss to £1.1 million from £1.8 million. The court decided that the financial penalty should be lowered to account for the fact that Staley had forfeited deferred shares from Barclays as a result of the affair. It is a legal battle that has engrossed the City of London. Staley spent five days in the witness box in March as part of a 12-day hearing on his case. Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, and Nigel Higgins, the chairman of Barclays, were also among the witnesses and the tribunal concluded that both had been 'straightforward' with the court. Judge Timothy Herrington concluded, however, that there were occasions when Staley 'did not do his best to assist the tribunal in his answers'. He said: 'Although we do not consider that Mr Staley sought deliberately to mislead the tribunal we have found that some of his evidence lacked credibility.' The court was also critical of the authority over the way it initiated its inquiry in 2019. The regulator's work started when Jonathan Davidson, who at the time was a senior official at the watchdog, contacted Higgins, who was on holiday, to ask him what the bank had done to understand Staley's Epstein links. A note of this call dictated by Davidson was 'clearly inadequate', the court said. 'It did not meet the standards prescribed by the authority for what is described as a 'note for the record'.' Staley, an American, was once one of Britain's top financiers and ran Barclays for six years until November 2021. Before joining the FTSE 100 bank he had spent most of his career at JPMorgan, America's biggest lender, and it was while rising through the ranks of the group that he met Epstein, an influential financier who was a client of the Wall Street giant's private banking division. The paedophile died in prison in 2019 awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking under-age girls. Epstein had in 2008 also pleaded guilty in Florida to procuring a minor for prostitution. Staley has said that he met Epstein in either 1999 or 2000 and the tribunal heard that the former Barclays boss had maintained a relationship with the sex offender after he was first jailed in 2008. The FCA did not allege that Staley was aware of, or involved in, Epstein's crimes that came to light in 2019, when the sex offender was arrested again. Staley said on Thursday that he was 'disappointed by the outcome and the time it took for this process to play out, that was entirely beyond my control. 'As the tribunal accepted, I was never dishonest, it took years of arguing with the authority and until November 2024 to establish that fact and it took more time for the financial penalty to be reduced by 40 per cent.' Therese Chambers, the regulator's joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: 'Mr Staley chose to take a calculated risk that we would take his inaccurate account of his relationship with Mr Epstein at face value. He hoped that the truth would never come to light and that he would get away with it. Such a serious lack of integrity flies in the face of the requirements we place on those at the top.'
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Fed's Collins says modestly restrictive monetary policy is necessary right now
NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said Tuesday monetary policy is in the right place. In remarks focused on the housing industry, the bank president noted that the 'modestly restrictive' stance of monetary policy is 'necessary' even as it has weighed on the housing market and thwarted efforts to improve the supply of homes. 'Price stability is essential to foster sustained growth, a strong labor market and an economy that works for all,' she said. Collins' remarks came from a speech prepared for delivery before an event on housing issues.
