Investment giant BlackRock’s plans to buy the Panama Canal, likely motivated by US President Donald Trump’s insistence on restoring the crucial trade route to US control, look set to encounter pushback from the Panamanian government.

Without a doubt, the regulatory landscape for the year ahead is set to be demanding, with key developments including Swift’s ISO 20022 compliance deadline in November, evolving AI regulation, and the European Union’s (EU) latest updates to payment frameworks through PSD3 and the Instant Payments Regulation. Amid tightening compliance pressures, financial crime also remains a growing concern, adding to the complexity for businesses navigating these shifts.

It’s been a long few weeks since Donald Trump began his second presidential term on 20 January. Trade observers braced themselves for a flurry of trade actions. The question, as always with Trump, was what would stick. 

Some speculated, and others hoped, that Donald Trump’s promises of brutal tariffs were merely an election-winning tactic to frenzy his domestic fanbase. But on 1 February 2025, less than two… read more →

To discuss these potential implications and explore how a second Trump presidency will reshape global trade, finance, and geopolitical dynamics, Trade Finance Global spoke with Rebecca Harding, Economist at Rebecanomics; Robert Besseling, CEO at Pangea Risk; Alyssa DiCaprio, former Chief Economist at R3; and Simon Everett, Trade Policy Expert on the day the results were announced.

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought instability to global currency markets, as the newly elected president threatens sweeping tariffs against major trading partners. These changes are a likely response to Trump’s threat of implementing tariffs of up to 25% on Canadian and Mexican imports.

In light of Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau resigning as his party’s leader in early January, and with Mexico’s President Sheinbaum only holding office since October, Donald Trump may be facing an entirely new set of neighbours upon taking office at the end of the Month.

To discuss these potential implications and explore how a second Trump presidency will reshape global trade, finance, and geopolitical dynamics, Trade Finance Global spoke with Rebecca Harding, Economist at Rebecanomics; Robert Besseling, CEO at Pangea Risk; Alyssa DiCaprio, former Chief Economist at R3; and Simon Everett, Trade Policy Expert on the day the results were announced.

The conversation surrounding real-time payment systems is evolving quickly, and nowhere is this more evident than in the dynamic between RTP (Real-Time Payments) and FedNow, two significant players within American… read more →

The Regulated Settlement Network (RSN) Proof-of-Concept (PoC), unveiled Thursday 5 December, aims to change how tokenised securities and central bank and commercial deposits could utilise shared ledger technology to enhance… read more →