Finance, Banking & Insurance

BEIJING – November 02, 2026 -- China's leadership has framed its financial-power agenda around six core elements, eight guiding principles and six institutional systems, according to an excerpt from Qiushi Journal's English edition (No. 2, 2026).

Xi's framework requires six elements to qualify as a financial power

A country strong in finance needs a strong currency, a strong central bank, strong financial institutions, international financial centers, strong financial supervision and a robust contingent of competent financial personnel. The article describes currency as a country's credit and the central pillar of a financial power. It calls the central bank the key sluice gate for money supply and the linchpin of a soundly operating financial system.

NORFOLK – – November 02, 2026 -- PRA Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRAA), which runs nonperforming loan portfolio operations in 18 countries, marked its 30th anniversary by ringing the Nasdaq Stock Market Opening Bell in New York City's Times Square.

CEO Sjolund and co-founder Fredrickson lead the bell ceremony

President and CEO Martin Sjolund rang the bell with co-founder and Executive Chairman Steve Fredrickson, the senior leadership team and employees representing the company's global workforce.

PRA Group grew from a 1996 Virginia startup into a diversified NPL buyer

The company was founded in Norfolk, Va., in 1996 and has been publicly traded since 2002. It describes itself as one of the most globally diversified companies in the nonperforming loan industry. It buys portfolios from banks and other creditors, returning capital to them, and works directly with customers to resolve their debt.

PROVIDENCE – November 02, 2026 -- Wealthbox, the advisor CRM provider, has hired Anand Sheth, founder and former CEO of Pulse360, to build AI and enterprise features for the large RIAs, broker-dealers and advisor networks that make up a fast-growing share of its customer base.

Sheth brings nearly 20 years of Ameriprise experience to the product team

Sheth spent nearly 20 years at Ameriprise Financial in practice management, client service and compliance roles. He later served as Chief Operating Officer of Confluence Wealth Management Group. In 2019 he founded Pulse360, which automates meeting prep, notes, follow-ups and compliance records for advisors.

Pulse360 was a 2021 WealthManagement.com Industry Awards finalist and launched AI-powered note-taking in 2023. It integrated with leading advisor CRMs, including Wealthbox.

Philadelphia – November 02, 2026 -- The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has registered Sporttrade as both a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), allowing the Philadelphia-based platform to run a regulated sports event contract exchange and its own clearing house.

Dual registration opens the exchange to intermediated flow

Sporttrade says the status lets it support intermediated activity through Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs). It will also serve direct access participants, Introducing Brokers (IBs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). Through its DCO, it can clear for other DCMs. The company contrasts this with many recent registrations, which it says do not offer the same scope.

Manama – November 01, 2026 -- SICO BSC (c) has won approximately USD 1.6 billion in new business from institutional and individual investors during 2026, the Bahrain-based asset manager, broker and investment bank announced at the Gateway Gulf 2026 Forum.

Mandates span three SICO divisions, mostly in public markets

The total aggregates new mandates across SICO's Asset Management, Wealth Management and Investment Banking businesses. Most of the volume sits in public markets, with the remainder in private markets.

USD 1.4 billion flows into SICO-managed funds and portfolios

About USD 1.4 billion of the total is new inflows and investments into public and private funds and portfolios managed by SICO. The remaining portion, more than USD 200 million, covers transactions and mandates across public and private markets and alternative investment products.

MANAMA – November 01, 2026 -- Investcorp recorded US$11.1 billion in aggregate fundraising, capital deployment and exit activity in the first nine months of 2026, with total assets under management reaching US$65.2 billion as of September.

Investcorp raises US$4.8 billion and deploys US$3.7 billion between January and September

The alternative investment manager disclosed the figures at the Gateway Gulf 2026 forum in Bahrain. It raised US$4.8 billion from its global investor base, deployed US$3.7 billion in new investments and booked US$2.6 billion in exits across its investment businesses.

Its North America Private Equity and Strategic Capital platforms secured more than US$2.3 billion in aggregate commitments over the period.

HONG KONG – November 01, 2026 -- RD Technologies is building stablecoin-backed settlement routes between Ghana and Asia with Stanbic Bank Ghana and Transika, and will support RDUSD, a US dollar stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank N.A., as a new settlement option in its ecosystem.

Stanbic Bank Ghana will explore a bank-led stablecoin settlement solution

The two companies will assess a cross-border trade settlement solution supported by stablecoin technology. The initial focus is legitimate business-to-business payments from Ghanaian companies to suppliers in Asia.

Technical validation and any controlled pilot depend on regulatory no-objection. Darwin Mireku, Head of Strategy Enablement at Stanbic Bank Ghana, said customer needs, compliance and risk management will guide the design and testing of the solution.

Singapore – – November 01, 2026 -- Thunes now routes instant cross-border payouts of up to $10,000 per recipient per day to UnionPay cards in mainland China, covering 79 major banks, after deepening its alliance with UnionPay International (UPI).

Single API connects Thunes' network to UPI

The integration links Thunes' Direct Global Network to UPI through one API. Financial institutions, payment service providers and money transfer operators in the Thunes network can send real-time consumer payouts without high setup costs, strict eligibility hurdles or ongoing technical maintenance, according to the company.

Higher daily limit targets a long-standing remittance bottleneck

Cross-border remittances into mainland China have been constrained by low daily transaction caps. Senders had to split larger personal transfers across several days or endure complex manual processing.

HONG KONG – November 01, 2026 -- HashKey On-Chain and RD Technologies will deploy the RDUSD US dollar stablecoin on HSK Chain, an institutional-grade Ethereum Layer 2 network, as the first step of a partnership targeting cross-border trade, corporate payments and institutional finance.

The collaboration will span digital asset on-chain trading, settlement, treasury management and asset tokenization. The aim is to extend RDUSD beyond digital asset trading into real-world business use.

Anchorage Digital Bank N.A. issues RDUSD under GENIUS Act design

RDUSD is supported by RD Technologies and issued by Anchorage Digital Bank N.A., described in the release as the first federally chartered digital asset bank in the US. The stablecoin is designed to comply with the US GENIUS Act regulatory framework.

NEW YORK and LONDON – November 02, 2026 -- Lazard, Inc. (NYSE: LAZ) has completed its acquisition of Campbell Lutyens and launched Lazard CL, a private capital advisory unit that Lazard expects to generate about $500 million of combined revenue and to add to earnings in 2027, before synergies.

Lazard CL becomes the firm's third global business with 300 advisers in 19 offices

Lazard CL combines Lazard's private capital advisory operation with Campbell Lutyens, with more than 300 advisory professionals across 19 offices worldwide. The deal was first announced on April 30, 2026. Lazard says the combined platform has advised on more than $1 trillion of primary capital raised and secondary transaction volume across approximately 1,300 mandates over four decades.