Brian Bollen's Blog

Bibby Financial Services agrees £700m facility to improve access to finance for UK SMEs

 International financier agrees three-year facility with consortium of funders 

Transaction maintains Bibby Financial Services’ total capacity of more than £1bn 

Announcement comes amid closure of govt. call for evidence on SME access to finance 

  

SMEs under pressure: rising costs and inflation top business concerns

Nearly 80% of SME owners are concerned about inflation and the cost of living, a rise from 69% in 2024

76% are worried about the rising cost of running their business, with the NIC hike a key concern

56% have concerns over access to the right funding for their business

 

 

 

Five-dimensional chess

In his latest weekly insight, Mark Dowding, BlueBay CIO, RBC BlueBay Asset Management. In this edition, looks at the outlook for the US, Europe, and Japan.

The Fed: This week’s CPI report was relatively benign at 2.8% on the core measure, although upside risk to prices, as a result of tariffs and supply chain disruptions, could see higher numbers in the months ahead. Anyway, it strikes us that the Fed can sit vindicated in its decision to stand pat on interest rates.

Yet, newsflow in the past week shows why the central bank can’t get pulled into a game of guessing where the economy may go (despite frustrations from President Trump and others on the Fed Chair’s reluctance to give away too many clues with respect to forthcoming rate cuts), based on survey indicators and the latest policy announcements, in an environment of such uncertainty.

Instead, they need to retain discipline with respect to analysing hard economic data and adjusting policy so as to minimise any overshoot on inflation or unemployment that would take them in a direction away from their desired objective. 

Hitting the market for SIX

SIX Announces Successful CHF 250m Digital Issuance

SIX, the leading operator of the Swiss and Spanish financial market infrastructures, has today (May 14 2025) confirmed the successful issuance of a CHF 250m digital bond. Featuring a 1% per annum coupon and a maturity in 2032, the bond attracted significant investor interest and will be listed at SIX Swiss Exchange.

The net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes which may include the refinancing of existing debt and the financing of the acquisition of Aquis Exchange Plc, as announced by the issuer on November 11 2024.

British Business Bank invests in Space Forge

The British Business Bank has today (May 14 2025) announced the first investment under its new co-investment strategy as part of its £285m Regional Angels Programme.

The investment, it explains, is in Wales-based Space Forge, a company that utilises the space environment to manufacture advanced semiconductor materials for critical infrastructure, ensuring more powerful and resilient capabilities across telecommunications, aerospace, and quantum. Space Forge’s £22.6m series A round was led by NATO Innovation Fund. 

Hail Project Pine: but can someone please explain it to me?

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today published a joint research study that explored if and how central banks could continue to implement monetary policy operations in hypothetical tokenised wholesale financial markets.

Project Pine, from the New York Innovation Center at the New York Fed and the Swiss Centre of the BIS Innovation Hub found that central banks could customise and deploy policy implementation tools using programmable smart contracts in a potential future state where commercial banks and other private sector financial institutions have widely adopted tokenisation for wholesale payments and securities settlement.

 

Digital bank Zopa raises £80m

Digital bank Zopa has raised £80m in Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital from existing and new investors ahead of a period of accelerated growth. This follows an EUR 80m equity fundraise executed in November 2024.

The bank says the funds will be used to strengthen its balance sheet without diluting shareholders as the bank prepares to enter everyday banking with the imminent launch of its flagship current account.

New WFE Research Discovers Climate Risk Premium in Commodity Options

The World Federation of Exchanges’ (WFE) new research finds that climate risks are positively priced into commodity options - meaning investors are rewarded for the climate-related risk they bear in holding these assets.

The WFE says the research also highlights a relationship between climate policy uncertainty and climate risk premiums: moderate levels of policy uncertainty increase climate risk premiums by unsettling market expectations, while extreme uncertainty, beyond a certain level, reduces climate risks premiums as traders and producers adopt a 'wait and see' strategy.

BVCA says Mansion House Accord could be a huge step forward for UK economy

The British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) has said it welcomes a new commitment made by several UK pension funds to target a default allocation target of 10% to 'private assets' (with 5% in the UK) by 2030.

As of February 2024, signatories of the existing Mansion House Compact hold nearly £800m (£793m) of unlisted equity assets in their DC default funds. This is the equivalent of 0.36% of the total value of their DC default funds (£219bn).

The case for investing in UK venture capital is strong, says BVCA. It says its analysis shows that while there is a wide range of returns for venture capital, the 10-year horizon internal rate of return for VC was 11% per annum for the 10 years to December 31 2023. This compares to 5.3% per year achieved by the FTSE All Share index and 7.5% achieved MSCI Europe index in the same period.

IADI consults on revisions to core principles

The International Association of Deposit Insurers today opened a public consultation on proposed revisions to the IADI Core Principles for Effective Deposit Insurance Systems.

The principles are globally recognised standards. They serve as a benchmark for jurisdictions to evaluate the effectiveness of their deposit insurance systems, identify gaps, and implement necessary improvements.

The proposed revisions address structural changes, including digital innovation, the growing role of deposit insurers in resolution, and lessons learned from the banking turmoil in March 2023.

The IADI Executive Council approved the revisions for consultation, following input from key stakeholders, including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, and Financial Stability Board.

IADI invites feedback on the proposals. Submissions are due by July 14 2025.

 

 

Shawbrook supports Throgmorton with additional debt funding

Manchester-based financial advisory group Throgmorton Capital Management is set to boost its bolt-on acquisition strategy. This follows an extension to its debt facility provided by Shawbrook.

Shawbrook's corporate leverage team structured a flexible debt solution which includes day one funding, with additional funding in years two and three to support deferred considerations.

Gunnercooke LLP acted for Shawbrook on the deal and Weightmans supported Throgmorton Capital Management.

The Downhill Only Club A History

I've spent a fair bit of time over the past 18 months or so on my mostly pro bono editorial work for the Downhill Only ski club, in Wengen, Switzerland.

Towards the end of 2024 the DHO published its first official history, which I co-compiled with Ingrid Christophersen, largely known for her sterling work in promoting skiing for the masses and translating The Bookseller of Kabul from the original Norwegian.

I'm attaching a QR code for anyone who might be interested in ordering a copy.

Brian :)