TFG heard from Chairman of Lloyd’s of London, Bruce Carnegie-Brown, on the critical Covid-19 related challenges faced by the 300-year-old institution, as well as what could be in stock for the longer-term future of the Lloyd’s market.

COVID-19 case rates are rising while fatalities remain relatively low across much of Europe. The UK saw its first significant tightening of restrictions in months with socialising limited to groups of six in England.

TFG heard from BofA on the possibility of SCF’s structural shift to localisation.

TFG heard from José Manuel Campa, Chairperson, EBA on the key initiatives taken by the banking sector to support the economy post-Covid such as technology and innovation in banks and prevention of financial crime.

Having appeared to stabilise in July and August the number of new cases of COVID-19 globally has edged up to new highs in the last fortnight. Europe is seeing a second wave, particularly in Spain and France, but the case rate in the US has fallen.

In their response to the Covid-19 pandemic, governments have learned and applied many of the lessons of past crises. Early testing and tracing at scale gave countries including Germany, Taiwan and South Korea a lead in combating the virus.

Barings Bank collapse. Noble Group’s demise. The 2020 commodities scandals of Agritrade, Hin Leong, Zenrock, Sugih Energy and Hontop Energy. Will these recent commodity financial scandals shatter Singapore’s reputational armour?

TFG heard from Dr. Özge TOSUN, legal counsel at Export Credit Bank of TURKEY (Turk Eximbank) on the various surety bond dilemmas in Turkish insurance including the impracticality of expecting Turkish law to govern all overseas contracts.

Soaring demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 tests resulted in a scramble for supplies. Governments are borrowing on a grand scale to subsidise and protect domestic capacity.

The pandemic has been vastly disruptive. It has prompted powerful responses from the government and the private sector. The number of new cases globally appears to have stabilised. Lockdown measures early in the quarter weighed heavily on UK growth but the recovery picked up some pace in June, with GDP rising 8.7% from May.