The latest Women in Finance report highlights how the finance industry is making positive changes toward increasing female representation in senior leadership roles in finance.

The report suggests that the average representation of women in senior roles increased to 35% in 20222 and that nearly three-quarters of signatories increased the number of women in senior management positions. Furthermore, the report suggests businesses are progressing toward their goals, with half setting a target of reaching 40%.

The HM Treasury introduced the Women in Finance Charter in 2016 and has published a review of the progress annually in partnership with the think tank New Financial. Certifiers of the Charter must declare their progress to the Treasury against their independent targets for women in senior management roles.

Overall this year’s report was very positive, with the main headlines including:

• Average female representation increased to 35%, indicating an improved picture for Charter signatories, as this number remained at 33% in 2020 and 2021.
• 77% of signatories have either increased (71%) or maintained (6%) their proportion of women in senior management.
• Signatories’ targets are rising, with half (50%) setting a target of at least 40%.
• Of the 73 signatories with a 2022 deadline, 44 hit their targets, and the remaining 29 missed, down from 31 in 2021. Of the 29 missing, 22 were close – within five percentage points or five appointments of hitting their targets.
• For the first time since the Charter’s creation, the top quarter of firms (52) have achieved at least 40% female representation in senior management. 

Source: Women in Finance Charter Report gov. uk

In response to the report, Treasury Lords Minister Baroness Penn stated that the results were very positive and that the signatories have shown commitment to delivering on this agenda by utilising data, setting targets and working to develop and inspire the next generation of leaders. Baroness Penn believes the report should indicate progress and remind us to stay focused. Penn wants to ensure the Charter remains a tool for maintaining competition, innovation and productivity. 

Amanda Blanc, CEO at Aviva and Government Women in Finance Champion, explains that the results are encouraging but believes we must continue progressing to ensure lasting changes. It’s positive that leaders are accountable for diversity in their business and that data is used effectively to support this issue.

Blanc highlights that a quarter of businesses now have 40% of women in senior management roles. While this is promising, we must continue to do more to ensure we improve the rate of change to achieve permanent acceptance of women in finance. Yasmine Chinwala, partner at New Finance and the lead author of the report, believes the progress is evidence that the principles of the Charter work. They encourage businesses to focus on the challenge of female representation like other strategic areas, with a target, progress and accountability. 

The data suggests that more businesses are discovering the connection between diversity targets and pay is making a difference, with over 60% reporting that the link to pay has been effective. Creating this link to pay means diversity is increasingly recognised as a business issue rather than an independent or voluntary issue managed by D&I teams.

Industry leaders are exploring how analytics is impacting the finance industry, creating opportunities and new challenges. In a recent discussion referred to as the analytics of finance, representatives stated the risk of potential new frauds and that if regulators fail to embrace analytics in the future, fraud cases will get bigger, persist for longer and be more challenging. According to financial leaders, some of the biggest fraud cases happen due to complexity, and financial markets are getting increasingly complex.

The discussion explored the importance of analytics, AI and Machine Learning as providing valuable pathways for solutions to every challenge faced. Investing in technologies like analytics is one of the most effective ways to tackle financial crimes. JP Morgan invests $12 billion every year in technology, and the entire financial sector may have a total annual outlay in the region of $100 billion. The critical area to focus on is efficiency, which means embracing data and analytics to determine potential barriers or challenges. 

As financial crimes become more sophisticated and challenging to detect, regulators appreciate the power of analytics and are embracing new technologies. Recognition of these tools is moving into education, with more institutions training for data and quantitative analysis. The use of analytics in finance has also delivered other benefits, such as growth and new efficiencies to markets and increased access to financial products, levelling the playing field for others. Analytics has a valuable and growing role beyond its traditional focus. On the high street, we see more efficient capital budgeting due to data utilisation. In households, we’re experiencing better budgeting, retirement savings and credit usage due to the democratisation of data, innovation and fintech. Within capital markets, analytics is exploring new uses, such as machine learning to develop predictive business models. Data and predictive models are being utilised for due diligence in mergers and acquisitions and capital-raising activities. Practitioners have seen positive results in terms of better accuracy and improved benefits to shareholders. Analytics could provide critical to meeting ESG values. Analytics with satellite monitoring could tackle greenwashing, and technologies like infrared imaging could monitor and verify emissions at various units. These methodologies would support investors assign capital to businesses embracing their values. 

Finance leaders explain that we need to consider data and analytics as an investment. Looking toward the future, the top challenge for analytics is related to data ownership, where people can control their personal information. On the other side, analytics will create innovative, custom financial planning for people at better costs, helping individuals make more informed decisions. Businesses, small and large, will also find more uses for analytics in other areas like capital budgeting and resource allocation. 

In a progressive field like analytics, it’s vital to determine between technology-related and human failures. To begin with, informed individuals that understand the technology, data and analytics make a huge difference. 

The responsibilities of the CFO in supporting business development have changed considerably in recent years. A report by McKinsey this year indicated that the role of a CFO is expanding rapidly.

The responsibilities of a CFO have transformed to include critical business processes. In recent years, the position has shifted toward embracing broader responsibilities such as risk management and business strategy. The role expands beyond the traditional areas to new fields such as innovation, digital transformation and culture.

Today’s CFO work with the CEO, establishing the business strategy and managing change. The range of functions connected to the CFO provides them with a vital oversight of the business and a deeper insight into the strategy. Innovation has become a critical asset of a CFO. A CFO understands how to balance creativity and financial expectations with new decisions. Concepts need to be tested and validated before implementing change and expecting progress.

The pandemic has reinforced the value of a good CFO by showing that the experience and skills of finance stretch beyond data processing. As we navigated the impacts of the lockdowns and other restrictions, forecasting cash flow became critical in ensuring a business survived, and the skills of the CFO and their supporting finance team proved vital in carrying companies through this period.

Most companies have managed to move through this challenging period and are now exploring ways to innovate and expand. This involves researching new concepts, whether introducing new tech or acquiring another organisation. The role of the CFO has once again proved pivotal in this new phase of innovation.

The role of a CFO provides more than just a reporting function. The CFO has a critical understanding of the business, as they see valuable data across the entire company and can transform data into clear and structured information. CFOs are skilled in applying advanced systems and analytics to create valuable insights into how business functions and the possible impact certain decisions could have on overall performance. An experienced CFO can determine what success looks like, critical KPIs, the required resources and the potential outcomes.

This type of information supports senior leaders in making informed decisions. It may support a final strategic decision or encourage them to invest in new technology. Whether you have an in-house CFO or hire externally, it’s evident that the modern CFO has more responsibility and influence on the overall success of a business and consists of a broader skillset to ensure companies can continue growing.

At the recent Sibos annual conference, digital innovation was pinpointed as very significant for financial inclusion. Sibos is an annual networking event delivered by Swift for the financial industry. Beginning as a seminar in 1978, the event has developed into a leading forum for the global financial community to explore and collaborate in areas of payments, securities, cash management and trade. This year’s conference agenda prioritised progressive finance for a changing world, with over 500 representatives discussing areas such as supporting the digital landscape to manage uncertain times and promote sustainability.

At the event, digital innovation was discussed as holding tremendous promise for financial inclusion and financial health. The underlying theme of the conference was focusing on progressive finance in a changing world that could not come at a more critical time.
There has been significant progress in the last few years, with approximately a quarter of the global adult population having secured access to financial services. More adults are included in some manner, enabling new opportunities for millions of previously disconnected. Investment in vital digital infrastructure, including enhanced connectivity, has delivered the foundations for further development. The rise of digital payments has spurred a considerable increase in account ownership. In the last few years, nearly 40% of adults in developing economies opened their first account to receive a wage or a government payment. Furthermore, millions of small merchants are either paid or make payments via their phones. This has enabled financial service providers, particularly new fintech players to be more innovative in the delivery of new products. The rise of mobile activity and new customer data channels by leveraging big data and AI means more creative and innovative ways to deliver financial products.

With every new technology, such as digital currencies, we must remember to focus on the problem, the solution, and what future we are visualising to enable long-term success. The conference message discussed that one of the priorities is ensuring innovation doesn’t create harm but delivers key digital services, like cybersecurity and digital literacy, that can support marginalised communities to manage their financial services safely and efficiently. Fairer competition and innovative payment systems were also discussed, as supporting markets work better, including for small-scale customers, but this was considered only the start, and there is the opportunity to move beyond not harm to implement positive changes.

Representatives at the event explained innovation shouldn’t happen just to maximise short-term returns. Instead, we should focus on the value generated in the long run. The value of customers translates into value for firms. Members were asked their opinions on managing their finances, planning and meeting future goals during periods of disruption and building further resilience. All of these factors were considered good business sense since financially healthy customers are better customers, and businesses that can provide these services differentiate themselves from others.

For the moment, only 55% of adults in developing economies can access emergency money within 30 days, and another study indicated that nearly half of respondents from OECD nations have no money left at the end of the month. In some areas, we have witnessed an increase in access to finance and, at the same time, a decline in financial health. We must determine the best solutions to these challenges and bring them to scale. Focusing on finding an approach to solve the reduction in financial health could be through encouraging partnerships that provide services within the entire value chains. Collaboration across the industry and government is critical to creating an inclusive digital infrastructure that enables services beyond finance, like health and education. These represent the foundations of sustainable development. If this is managed correctly, digital innovation holds great potential for financial inclusion and financial health. We should focus on a better future with shared experiences and use events like this to deliver a more secure, trusted and effective digital future that works for everyone.

A few months ago, one of the most established banking businesses n the world – Lloyds Bank, confirmed it was joining the likes of Google and Uber by delivering a new role – Group Head of Data Ethics. The new position is mainly responsible for the moral and legal obligations for collecting, measuring and protecting significant volumes of data available at Lloyds Bank.

The job posting focused on promoting, embedding and commercialising data and analytics and the culture within the business to drive a data-enabled organisation. If data is the focus to drive business insights, AI is the accelerator that will power this process forward, generating new solutions quicker than previously possible. Conversely, using AI automation on scale without a data ethics representative in a highly regulated industry like finance is similar to beginning a journey without having a map, lacking direction or the ability to shift their course.

The pressure of audits, compliance checks, detailed processes and meeting standards in the financial sector all influence overall success, not just in terms of avoiding regulatory fines but reducing any possible legal implications due to data errors. The challenge comes when the rate of data creation exceeds the ability to process it efficiently.

To appreciate why data ethics is so important, we need to understand the role data has in the finance sector. Combining the complexity and volume of data created today, this surge of information rapidly outpaced the original systems and processes needed to analyse data efficiently. Traditionally, compliance and regulatory processes were managed manually via static spreadsheets. Today, these processes are being streamlined through advanced analytics, making the technologies more accessible and approachable. Analytical automation is a solution to refine large volumes of data effectively and convert it into clear, actionable insights.

Two main tools used within the finance industry are business process automation and automated insight generation from data. Process automation is the ability to take a selected activity, such as extracting data from its source and combining it with data from other areas, and automatically delivering reports. This process generates several benefits for compliance and regulatory requirements and significantly reduces report generation with nearly no errors. These results happen through repeatable, transparent and verified processes completed the same way every time.

The second tool is applying AI for decision-making. AI can determine patterns within data sets to identify fraud or money laundering of specific factors, impacting the ability of an applicant to repay their mortgage. The speed and accuracy benefits that come with automation mean this technology is quickly becoming a vital part of modern finance. The challenge is relatively simple – we alone cannot maintain pace with the continued flow of new data, nor the analytical systems required to make sense of it.

Alongside the rise of new information and an increased focus on compliance and efficiency comes an increased need for humans required to understand and manage that process from end to end. This process requires acquiring the necessary knowledge to deliver the datasets and the correct governance measures to facilitate and improve data quality. Under the GDPR, the requirement for explainability in these processes has become mandatory. Finance businesses, especially those larger established organisations, contain significant sets of valuable data with the incentive to utilise this information. However, the sensitive side of this financial information, creating data standards, and an ethics framework must be the focus before developing these areas. An ethics leader, someone responsible for maintaining human benefit and ethics lies at the core of AI innovation, is a critical part of delivering growth and generating the value expected from AI automation.
Instead of assuming AI will deliver the best insights, it’s critical to understand how and why the results are as they seem. Focusing on this ethical approach and ensuring wider adoption is vital to the role of an ethics leader.

While AI can perform many tasks without human involvement, it is critical that those creating, operating and making the decisions completely understand any potential errors before AI replicates them. With the ethical and governance-based foundation, finance teams will potentially automate bad decisions faster. Training, testing and continuous monitoring and vital to success. Training data applied to AI systems must not include bias to ensure no bias is replicated at a later stage.

While ethics professionals must manage the best possible practice, ethical AI requires a holistic approach to data literacy and ethics. These go together when creating and implementing assured AI, capable of supporting and complimenting human capabilities. A recent study by Alteryx discovered that 42% of UK employees responsible for data work saw data ethics as irrelevant to their role. The reality is, however, that data integrity and transparent decision-making are critical for any success in AI-focused insight generation.

Payments provide a perfect entry point for software platforms into financial services. A relationship with payments creates data, trust and in most cases, further banking requirements. This provides the opportunity for software platforms to create a range of embedded finance options to increase their revenue, and improve the user experience and customer retention. Any software service offering payments should incorporate a focus on the long-term opportunities in finance.

Software platforms have a clear understanding of the performance and sales of customer businesses. This enables software platforms to make better decisions and allows them to design other opportunities and enhance customer growth. For example, software platforms could design integrated expense reporting services within their package, providing an additional opportunity to generate revenue.

As software platforms progress toward embedded finance, creating a money management product can convert the service into a complete financial operating system. This involves enabling customers to receive sales deposits, add funds and make payments. Combined with a card product, the account acts in a similar way to a conventional bank account, enabling customers to make transactions and withdraw money from their accounts. Furthermore, software platforms can generate interest revenue and interchange revenue, as well as receive regular reports on their finances. For example, Shopify Balance, in partnership with Stripe is considered one of the best options available. Launched earlier this year Shopify claims that thousands of merchants are now using the service.

As software platforms progress further into embedded finance, it’s clear that there are opportunities to expand into other areas. Insurance, purchase financing and payroll are all examples which could be explored. The main factor software companies must consider with the move toward embedded finance is improving the financial lives of their customers.

Instead of highlighting the competitive landscape between emerging fintech and traditional banks, there is the potential to collaborate and generate more value. The fintech industry is accelerating innovation in finance industry, but many startups’ progress is hindered by strict regulations, data privacy and security concerns. Many traditional banking institutions are beginning to partner with fintech companies to expand and accelerate their digital plans.

The digital drive is forcing established banks to move from legacy systems to innovative solutions. It’s unlikely that fintech companies can take the stronghold of the market, but traditional banks will have to determine whether they decide to introduce their solutions or partner with fintech companies to maintain the edge over other competitors. If customer expectations continue to rise and demand the types of products and services offered by fintech startups, incumbent finance companies will have to find a solution to deliver new products or collaborate with those that can.

How fintech represents innovation in business

The rise of fintech has caused many finance leaders to adapt their core focus concerning data and digital platforms, utilising data and new services to enhance efficiency and security. Open-source software, SaaS and other architecture have become critical for tech and finance organisations exploring fintech services.

Technological progression and innovation are critical parts of fintech development, and they will likely continue to disrupt business activities within the financial industry. Many traditional finance businesses have been encouraged to be more creative as fintech companies promote new and innovative digital features and continue to gain further popularity across the financial industry.

Fintech represents innovation and is why many traditional finance companies struggle to maintain pace with new trends continuing to disrupt the industry. While fintech companies have the agility and a customer-focused approach to deliver more flexible solutions and a better user experience, the traditional banks have the size and experience, which translates into consumer confidence. Fintech expertise is often used by finance companies to improve and automate procedures and create detailed insights into their clients.

The range of fintech developments has expanded to payments and investing in new business models like blockchain, insurance-tech and data-driven marketing. The finance industry is experiencing a significant transformation on a large scale, predominantly due to technology: cloud computing, big data, robotics and artificial intelligence, and the shift in virtual and open banking and fintech. Product and software management, cyber security, customer experience, and data analytics are skills required not by just the fintech industry but also by any technology business.

There are many benefits that could transpire from a partnership between corporates and fintech. The integration of technology and greater access to data generate better compliance, security and lower privacy risks. Open banking enables third parties to create products and services around the offerings of a financial business. This collaboration would extend the potential of ecosystem-based finance, where banks and other finance companies can work with non-financial companies to create a seamless customer experience.

Finance integration has been a growing trend in the last year, with many finance companies looking to be providers to non-banks and non-financial groups looking to deliver a customer experience or service involving financial products as part of their offering. As the demand for rapid financial transactions has increased, banks and other financial businesses have been integrating fintech products within their standard practices. The ultimate purpose of fintech, aside from its focus on innovation, is to adopt technology to provide customers with financial requirements and deliver the best experience.
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Education and Business schools are trying to tackle the rising demands from new finance and other technology-focused market influencers.

Innovation in the tech industry has been disrupting finance for many years resulting in many of the new fintech companies becoming mainstream. Fintech venture funding has accelerated significantly in the last year and caused a spike in new job opportunities. New businesses, invest-tech companies and other neobanks are emerging in financial hubs worldwide. Studies show that leading tech innovators such as Revolut and Stripe appeal to many job seekers. For example, Revolut received over 250,000 applications during Q1 this year for 576 open positions. This number equates to well over 430 applications per job. Fintech companies like Revolut are actively looking for graduate talent worldwide.

The interest in fintech has left universities and other business schools racing to maintain a grasp of the skills and competencies required to fill these roles. Some schools are introducing specialist fintech degrees to attract and train the next-gen of fintech talent. For example, New York University Stern School of Business is launching a one year Master of Science in Fintech. The program will include data programming, blockchain, machine learning in finance and fintech leadership. Course representatives explain that the curriculum ensures people are prepared with the most relevant skills and tools to become instant disrupters in the fintech industry.

Some recruiters believe it isn’t all about finding candidates with fintech-related degrees. Some agencies prefer to recruit people based on their technical background or qualifications. For non-tech roles, people could potentially join with different skills. From a technical perspective, the skills required for new positions are evolving very quickly. Career industry specialists recommend acquiring a good understanding of blockchain, data science and cyber security as critical areas that set you apart from the competition. Continued learning and exploring the latest developments in fintech is vital to maintaining your competitive edge.

Fintech employers are also looking for technology talent in other fields like payments technology, data analytics and user experience. Finance business experts highlight that an understanding of the financial industry continues to be very important. Fintech employers are seeking professionals with a background in the traditional finance industry, including knowledge in risk analysis and business development, but have the potential to learn new skills virtually. Business schools could support the requirements in fintech by capitalising on this knowledge gap. There is an opportunity to assist people from tech backgrounds to gain a deeper understanding of the financial industry with a dedicated fintech for tech professionals programme. There are very few people in fintech that are capable of excelling in both finance and technology.

The ideal graduate is somebody that appreciates business and technology, and this can be hard to find. There is rising demand for individuals that can programme in multiple languages, but at the same time, graduates with skills in economics and user behaviours are also very important. The focus is now on shaping graduates with broader skills across these areas. Fintech businesses want graduates with strong communication skills and are capable of working confidently with other industry professionals, whether this is in finance or an engineering discipline. The single, most important attribute boils down to their ability to problem-solve. Candidates that can show critical thinking and problem-solving skills are highly desirable. Candidates may be technically capable and have the experience, but if they are difficult to manage or lack the communication skills, then this person may not be a good match for the culture of a particular company.

Embedded finance is rapidly expanding, particularly in recent years. Google reports that searches for embedded finance have spiked in the last two years, partly due to funding for startups introducing new embedded finance solutions and big banks wanting to explore this new market.

Interest in embedded finance is increasing for various reasons. Juniper Research predicts that the market will exceed $138 billion by 2026. Another reason for this growth is that the pandemic has encouraged businesses to rethink their offerings and explore new fintech solutions. While there are opportunities, the development of embedded finance comes with new challenges, particularly concerning data privacy and complying with current regulations.

If a non-financial organisation provides a financial service that enables a seamless customer journey and no platform movement, it is considered an embedded finance solution. The concept is closely related to open banking. British and EU regulations mean big banks and other financial institutions must share consented customer data. Smaller businesses can utilise these data feeds, and as a result, it empowers startups to offer better financial services.

While there are talks in the fintech industry about how successful open banking has been, several startups have tapped into this market over the last few years. Embedded finance expands on the idea of open banking, expanding the service beyond fintech businesses.

Reports from BaaS provider, Vodeno suggest that over 50% of retailers and eCommerce companies in Europe will increase their services or plan to start offering embedded finance solutions in the coming year. Innovation in customer experience is the primary driving factor behind developing embedded finance.

Traditional retailers and eCommerce companies recognise that their customers expect a seamless shopping experience. Processes like taking users to an external payment portal are not acceptable anymore.

The challenge, however, is these solutions can be costly, and many smaller companies cannot purchase their financial solution. Most companies utilise fintech startups for these solutions. Most traditional financial interactions were often controlled by banks. Today banking-as-a-service (BaaS) means all businesses have access to innovative embedded financial solutions that are cost-effective and simple to integrate.

However, there is growing competition from larger industry businesses attempting to capitalise on the embedded finance industry. Big companies like JP Morgan intend to use some of their tech investment budget towards developing embedded financial services. Rival business Goldman Sachs recently announced its banking-as-a-service portal for developers.

Barclays recently announced its Rise Start-Up Academy, a digital skills programme for fintech professionals. The first project for developing new ventures focuses on embedded finance. The pandemic has increased the adoption of embedded finance solutions.

While startups have dominated the industry, incumbent businesses are starting to explore the market. Lower interest rates have made it more difficult for big banks to compete on price. A further factor relates to the global health crisis and how this has changed opinions toward alternative financial service providers.

While there have been significant changes, reports suggest that the average customer remains reluctant to shift their money from traditional institutions. It’s becoming clear that non-traditional financial service providers are acquiring the trust and attention of customers. In response, larger businesses need to be more creative with their products and services. The result has been increased availability of new services, including embedded finance solutions.

Embedded finance enables established financial organisations to reach out to existing clients via different channels. There is a rising demand for embedded finance solutions. Businesses looking to introduce these services have several challenges before moving forward with this option.

For the first time, finance is a vital part of the COP26 climate summit, highlighting the role finance plays in supporting the economy towards net zero. Finextra, an attendee of COP6, listened to the ‘Green Horizon Summit’ by the Green Finance Institute, a daily insight running throughout the conference.

Expert industry speakers from technology, climate change and finance contributed to the latest discussions. These representatives explore how the private sector can support an accelerated move towards net-zero and how crucial reliable data and green technology are to tackle climate change.

After the first day of COP26, several climate-focused commitments were announced by governments. These measures included:

-A plan to eliminate deforestation by 2030 and funding valued at $3 billion for green investments in developing economies.
-Rockefeller and Ikea foundations launched a Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, with a commitment of $10 billion towards renewables.
-India pledged to reach net-zero by 2070.
-Brazil will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030.
-The UK and India will finance a 140-nation renewable solar grid.

Despite the promises, many agree that more needs to be done beyond public finance. Private green finance opportunities need to increase to ensure capital flows go towards climate and nature-focused investments.

Starting the discussions, representatives highlighted the necessity to facilitate collaboration between the private and public sectors and data was considered the driving force. Industry experts explained that the public and private sectors must work together, and that is why data is so important. We have the resources available, but we need to ensure we use them properly.

The UK Government made it compulsory for large businesses to display data following the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), becoming the first G20 nation to announce this step into law. With a diverse number of the existing standard, TCFD will be important in enabling stakeholders to compare overall performance and commitments.

Being carbon neutral since 2007, technology leader Google highlighted its support for TCFD last year. In 2020, Google announced new targets regarding climate action, including becoming the first major business to operate on continuous carbon-free energy by 2030.

The work by google indicates the important role of technology in the transition to net-zero. How can these techniques be applied to other businesses? With more data and the rise of data analytics, businesses can explore the entire supply chain. It is simpler to comprehend the impact of assets. Technology can also be applied to benefit the customer. Last year, Google committed to supporting a billion users in making more sustainable and smarter decisions. For example, when searching for flights, customers can now view the carbon footprint of various flight options.

Other industry experts voice these methods, suggesting that people need the information to make informed decisions. The challenge is now scaling these solutions to tackle the climate crisis we face. We need to incorporate this knowledge with data analysis. If we focus on data, the rest will follow, in terms of generating consistency of reporting and accountability for informed decisions.

Implementing AI to many of these problems shows big potential. AI systems can help facilitate change in businesses worldwide but requires sourcing reliable and consistent data and collaborating closely with other partners. Decision making works most effectively if people are capable of discussing the problems in an informed manner. So, while information is viewed as useful, information concerning what we can all do is transformational.

Finance and technology were highlighted as two vital areas in ensuring our climate goals are met at the last conference. So, what is required from the COP26 climate summit? Firstly, sufficient money must be invested to enable and facilitate the changes required. Secondly, banks need clear information on their decision-making process, in terms of who to support and who to ignore. This entire process is driven by data, so all stakeholders, whether it be an NGO or a customer, remain confident in the entire process.