Archives

March 26, 2024 @ 11:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

2023 was a challenging year for the Irish FinTech market, with investments and transactions reaching $60.83 million across 11 deals; this was a significant decrease (94 percent) compared to last year, where investments and transactions totaled over $1 billion across 22 deals, according to the… Read More

March 23, 2024 @ 3:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

KPMG UK launches the fourth edition of its Financial Services Regulatory Barometer, providing a biannual measure of the regulatory pressure faced by financial services firms in the UK and EU. The latest aggregate Regulatory Impact Score “stands at 7.3 (out of 10), up from 7.2… Read More

March 18, 2024 @ 7:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Generative AI (Gen AI) became popular or more widespread with consumers in 2022, when several user-friendly text-based AI systems were released to the public, according to a recent update shared by KPMG. Yet despite its infancy, respondents to a new KPMG UK poll have “expressed… Read More

March 12, 2024 @ 8:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Recruitment activity across the UK continued to weaken midway through the opening quarter of the year, according to the latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs survey, compiled by S&P Global. Ongoing economic uncertainty and hesitancy “to commit to new hires amid cost pressures… Read More

February 22, 2024 @ 7:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

KPMG UK and Blue J announced that they will launch a new generative AI powered product to answer challenging tax research questions in seconds. KPMG will have exclusive access “to the tool, Ask Blue J, among the big four accountancy firms in the UK for… Read More

February 19, 2024 @ 11:48 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs survey, compiled by S&P Global, highlighted that ongoing uncertainty around the economic outlook continued to impact hiring decisions at the start of the year. Permanent placements fell at “a sharp and accelerated pace, while the downturn… Read More

February 16, 2024 @ 2:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

2023 was a challenging year for the fintech market, with total global fintech investment dropping from US$196.6 billion across 7,515 deals in 2022 to a six-year low of US$113.7 billion across 4,547 deals in 2023 according to the Pulse of Fintech H2’23—a bi-annual report published… Read More

January 29, 2024 @ 8:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mid-market private equity investment activity in the UK declined by 10% in 2023, as challenging macroeconomic conditions presented few glimmers of hope for recovery, according to KPMG UK’s Mid-Market Private Equity report. The firm’s most recent M&A study “has revealed that 675 mid-market transactions were… Read More

January 17, 2024 @ 8:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The majority of European and UK Equity Capital Markets (ECM) leaders believe that large international companies still “see London as a destination of choice when considering listing,” according to new research from KPMG UK. When asked where large international companies “would consider listing, almost all… Read More

January 12, 2024 @ 8:40 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Recruitment intentions remained subdued as 2023 drew to a close, according to the latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs survey, compiled by S&P Global. Permanent placements and temp billings “declined again in December, albeit at softer rates than in November, as employers maintained… Read More

January 9, 2024 @ 8:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Since the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the transition to online banking, UK individuals are visiting their local bank branches less often and less frequently. Research courtesy of KPMG indicates that 21% of UK consumers haven’t visited a bank branch in the last year, up from 14%… Read More

January 7, 2024 @ 6:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Business leaders in the financial services sector are feeling optimistic moving into 2024, according to new research from KPMG UK. The survey of senior executives working in the sector found “that 87% are ‘confident’ when it comes to overall business growth in the first quarter… Read More

December 27, 2023 @ 1:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A significant uplift in global growth is “unlikely” in 2024 with “no short-term end in sight to geopolitical uncertainty and tight monetary policies,” according to the latest KPMG Global Economic Outlook. Produced by leading economists from KPMG member firms around the world, this year’s report… Read More

December 19, 2023 @ 7:09 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK economy is limping along while high interest rates and policy uncertainty take their toll on global growth, according to an update from KPMG. KPMG noted that activity has outperformed expectations, but the UK economy “remains weak and vulnerable to shocks.” Here are some… Read More

December 14, 2023 @ 8:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

KPMG has recently commented on the one year anniversary of the launch of the Edinburgh Reforms Commenting on 12 months from the launch of the Edinburgh Reforms, Karim Haji, global and UK head of financial services at KPMG said: “One year on from the launch… Read More

December 7, 2023 @ 8:08 am By Omar Faridi  |  

KPMG has shared its response to the latest UK Q3 M&A data. Rob Baxter, UK Head of Corporate Finance at KPMG, commented: “A combination of domestic and global factors continues to suppress UK dealmaking. But while the cost of borrowing will remain high, slowing inflation… Read More

November 30, 2023 @ 6:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

KPMG has commented on the recently released Bank of England money and credit data. Karim Haji, Head of Financial Services at KPMG UK, comments on today’s Money and Credit Data from The Bank of England: “Consumer borrowing was down slightly in October, which could be… Read More

November 27, 2023 @ 7:39 am By Omar Faridi  |  

With the ongoing threat of crypto fraud and criminals growing more sophisticated every day, organizations need ever-powerful solutions “to help them investigate and recover stolen funds.” KPMG in Canada and Chainalysis are teaming up “to help meet that growing need by announcing a strategic agreement… Read More

November 24, 2023 @ 5:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Australia’s mutual banks, building societies and credit unions (the “Mutuals”) increased total assets by 2.5 percent to $163.1 billion in the 2023 financial year, “compared to last year’s 8.4 percent jump (to $159.1 billion).” At the same time, overall operating profits before tax increased “by… Read More

November 14, 2023 @ 11:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In the UK, early adoption of renewables has seen significant progress on delivering Net Zero, but global challenges and the need “to tackle the harder to abate sectors could see progress stall in the coming years,” according to KPMG’s 2023 Net Zero Readiness Report. The… Read More