The OMFIF Podcast

Around a third of the world lack reliable internet access and among the two thirds that have access, disruptions and restrictions are far from unknown. Ensuring that digital payments solutions are reliable and have the broadest reach possible requires that they can function offline. Though the need is well understood, the challenges of meeting it remain. Lars Hupel, G+D's chief evangelist, joins OMFIF's Digital Monetary Institute editor Lewis McLellan to discuss how offline capabilities enhance the effectiveness and convenience of online payment methods and share G+D's experience in this field.

Christopher Smart, former senior US Treasury and National Security Council official and managing partner of Arbroath Group, joins OMFIF's US chair Mark Sobel, to discuss the economic plans of presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. They compare the candidates' differences on fiscal, monetary, exchange rate, trade and immigration policies. 

Omar Massarweh, vice president of public policy for the Middle East and North Africa at Mastercard, joins Arunima Sharan, senior economist at OMFIF to discuss key findings from the ‘Path to Morocco’ project completed by OMFIF in partnership with Mastercard, aimed at fostering public-private dialogue and ensuring that financial inclusion remains at the core of future economies. Their conversation touches on the alignment of current financial systems with the World Economic Forum's shared principles for an inclusive financial system and the areas with the greatest potential for improvement. They also explore how emerging technologies can enhance financial inclusion, the role of financial institutions in catalysing innovation and successful examples of public-private collaborations in the region.

Jeremy Cunningham, investment director at Capital Group, speaks with Arunima Sharan, senior economist at OMFIF to discuss the latest trends in emerging markets debt. They explore the re-emergence of these markets in investors' minds and how perceptions of EM debt have shifted in recent years. The conversation covers current and future opportunities in this local and hard currency EM bonds, factors contributing to higher return potential, and associated risks. OMFIF’s Q3 Bulletin on emerging markets can be found here

Vlad Rashkovan, Ukraine's representative to the International Monetary Fund, joins Mark Sobel, OMFIF’s US chair, to provide an update on Ukraine's economic and financial situation. They assess the country's progress in implementing economic reforms despite the war and the hardships facing Ukraine's people. They explore how Ukraine is using both domestic resources and international financing to maintain stability, and Rashkovan gives his views on the disposition of blocked Russian central bank and oligarch assets, the fight against corruption and reconstruction. 

Max Castelli, head of strategy, sovereign institutions at UBS asset management, and Philipp Salman, also on the team at UBS, speak with OMFIF Lead Economist Taylor Pearce to discuss the latest observable trends in central bank reserve management. They discuss investment strategies, currency and asset allocations and the factors influencing reserve managers’ investment decisions in the current macroenvironment, which UBS have been tracking for 30 years now. OMFIF's 2024 GPI report on central bank reserve management is available here.    The views expressed are as of July 2024 and are those of the author and not necessarily the views of UBS Asset Management. This podcast is a marketing communication and the information herein should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation to purchase or sell securities or any particular strategy or fund. Information and opinions have been provided in good faith and are subject to change without notice.

With the proliferation in artificial intelligence development, the landscape for fraud is changing rapidly. The technology represents a tool for both fraudsters and those whose job it is to catch them. Liyun He Guelton, senior AI researcher, and Claire Deprez, head of product management at Worldline, joined Lewis McLellan, Digital Monetary Institute editor, to discuss the new threats AI poses in enabling fraud, and the tools that Worldline is developing to thwart them.

Wolfram Seidemann, chief executive officer of Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technology, joins John Orchard, chief executive officer of OMFIF, for a discussion on why public and private sectors need to come together to pool their strengths to build a thriving CBDC ecosystem. They will discuss the advantages for both stakeholders and users, and underscore the importance of offline functionality as a key area for collaboration. Access deeper insights by also downloading OMFIF’s report in partnership with G+D: Unlocking the potential of a CBDC ecosystem  

Geoffrey Yu, senior Europe, Middle East and Africa market strategist at BNY Mellon, joins Taylor Pearce, lead economist of OMFIF’s Economic and Monetary Policy Institute, to discuss the outcomes of the European Parliament election and the subsequent market implications. They discuss the effects of a snap election in France, the potential impact of the new European Parliament on trade policy and other major market topics.

With its recent 'Finternet' paper, the Bank for International Settlements has planted its flag firmly in shared ledgers as the future rails of financial infrastructure. The idea of a single platform – a network of ledgers – providing the means for the seamless and instant settlement of many financial and non-financial assets versus tokenised cash is certainly attractive in its promise. Delivering such a complex ecosystem entails a great deal of complexity, both technically and from the perspective of governance. However, incremental steps in that direction are already delivering business value. To explain how tokenised settlement platforms are improving financial markets, Lewis McLellan, editor of OMFIF's Digital Monetary Institute, is joined by Basak Toprak, EMEA head of coin systems at Onyx by JP Morgan, and Atul Bhuchar, head of product at Partior.