Latest news with #Freshfields
Zawya
08-08-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Trump targets banks with order barring discriminatory 'debanking'
WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump stepped up pressure on large banks and their regulators on Thursday, signing an executive order requiring the banking industry to ensure it is not refusing financial services to anyone based on political or religious beliefs, a practice frequently described as "debanking." The order directed regulators to review all banks they supervise for any current or past practices that would effectively bar customers based on political or religious beliefs, and levy fines or other disciplinary measures as needed. It said agencies may refer certain cases to the Justice Department for potential civil action and also directed regulators themselves to purge any policies or practices that may discourage banks from providing services based on non-financial reasons. The order was largely in line with industry expectations, with regulators getting 180 days to examine firms for discriminatory activities and review their own internal policies, according to two bank sources. Key questions going forward will be how precisely various regulators interpret the order, and how banks will be expected to comply, said one of the sources. "Most banks already have policies and procedures governing when they'll decline to open an account or close accounts for existing customers, typically emphasizing things like money-laundering risk or solvency concerns. Today's order puts increased pressure on those policies," said David Sewell, a partner at law firm Freshfields. The executive order is the latest in a growing pressure campaign against the financial sector by U.S. conservatives, who argue they have been unfairly deprived of services on the basis of their political beliefs. Trump claimed in a CNBC interview on Tuesday that he personally was discriminated against by banks, asserting without evidence that JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America refused to take his deposits following his first term in office. JPMorgan said on Tuesday it does not close accounts for political reasons. Bank of America said it does not comment on client matters, and would welcome clearer rules from bank regulators on how to conduct its activities. The executive order said some financial institutions participated in "government-directed surveillance programs" against conservatives following the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, by Trump supporters. "Such practices are incompatible with a free society and the principle that the provision of banking services should be based on material, measurable, and justifiable risks," the executive order said. Large banks have consistently said they do not reject customers on political or other belief-based grounds. Instead, they have argued that overzealous bank regulators and supervisors have discouraged them from engaging with certain sectors and have called for clearer guidelines. In a joint statement, major banking groups thanked the Trump administration for efforts to rein in "runaway regulations" and said the new order may provide sought-after clarity for lenders. "It's in banks' best interest to take deposits, lend to and support as many customers as possible. Unfortunately, regulatory overreach, supervisory discretion and a maze of obscure rules have stood in the way," said a joint statement from the Bank Policy Institute, American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association and Financial Services Forum. Trump-led regulators have already taken steps to loosen regulations, with all three federal bank regulators announcing this year they would no longer police banks on so-called "reputational risk," wherein supervisors could sanction institutions for activities that are not strictly prohibited but could expose the bank to negative publicity or costly litigation. Banks increasingly complained the reputational risk standard was too subjective and vague, allowing bank supervisors to effectively bar firms from providing services to some people or sectors. The industry has also argued regulators need to update anti-money laundering rules, which frequently can force banks to shut down suspicious accounts without providing a reason. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh, Pete Schroeder, and Nupur Anand; additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Saeed Azhar Editing by Leslie Adler and Nia Williams)
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Over half of S&P 500 companies cut DEI from annual reports in 2025
More than half of S&P 500 (^GSPC) companies dropped DEI from annual reports in 2025. Yahoo Finance Senior Legal Reporter Alexis Keenan joins Market Domination Overtime to break down what the data says about the state of DEI efforts this proxy season. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination Overtime here. All right, more than half of all S&P 500 companies scrubbed DEI from annual reports in 2025. From over bringing Yahoo Finance senior legal reporter, Alexis Keen. Alexis. Hi, guys. Yeah. So, we're kind of rounding out the proxy season here and we'd like to take a look back at the shareholder proposals, both for DEI initiatives and against them, and corporations focusing on those efforts. And the votes are mostly in here, and again this year, we have shareholders really roundly rejecting both types of measures, with none of them, none of them receiving majority shareholder support. So, on the pro side, what we're talking about here are considerations like the board adopting diversity policies, also adopting LGBTQ+ inclusion strategies, and also for companies to focus more on things like human rights. Now, on the anti side, the proposals have, uh, things like ceasing DEI efforts altogether or at least reporting the effectiveness of those policies. So, I've been crunching some data from the law firm Freshfields. Others track this data too, like ISS. And these DEI related proposals among S&P 500 companies, that's what we're looking at in this particular instance. In total, there were about 65 DEI related proposals. Now, that definition can vary from firm to firm a little bit, but compared to, uh, 2024, these numbers are down about 34%. 29 of these proposals actually got to a vote as of, uh, June 16th, and four were still pending. About 26 of those were anti, considered anti-ESG. Now, on top of that, you mentioned there, uh, coming to me, that, uh, there were 60% actually fewer companies that included DEI references in their 10Ks, in their annual reports. So, that was a big number that jumped out at us, uh, here at Yahoo Finance. And then on top of that, you had 200 plus companies removing the actual words diversity and equity. So, really shying away from that kind of verbiage there. Now, I was talking today with the CEO of As You Sow, the nonprofit advocacy group, uh, their CEO, Andrew Behar. He was saying that while the resolution numbers are down for DEI, that there's really momentum still. And he points to rejection of the anti-DEI proposals as a win for the proponents here. Uh, he points to shareholders rejecting measures at Apple, at Goldman Sachs, at Costco, uh, Levi Strauss, Deere, Berkshire Hathaway, Disney. So big firms, he said, you know, that's really important. He also said though, and I found this super interesting, that there's a lot of uncertainty now for companies that are federal contractors because if you remember back to the January executive orders from President Trump, uh, there was one that precludes federal contractors from engaging in DEI efforts and having these kind of things as part of their policies. Uh, so some of those are subject to challenges, and now that the Supreme Court on Friday has said that the district courts don't have the ability to issue a sweeping nationwide injunction in order to put those on hold, he said, you know, that has cast a lot of uncertainty into these companies that are trying to figure out what they should be doing. So still more to come, more tracking to do, but we're, we're at the end of this, uh, this proxy season and able to look back at these numbers and seeing that a lot more of the same, a lot more rejection, but the numbers are indeed down. Errore nel recupero dei dati Effettua l'accesso per consultare il tuo portafoglio Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati Errore nel recupero dei dati
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legal tech platform Definely raises $30M Series B to make contract reviewing more efficient
Nnamdi Emelifeonwu was always curious about what work life was like for his colleague Feargus MacDaeid, one of the few registered blind lawyers in the U.K. Both practiced law at the global firm Freshfields. When asking about what would make his life easier, the answer was clear: 'Help me navigate definitions in complex contracts without losing context,' Emelifeonwu told TechCrunch. He realized the fix to MacDaeid's request would be useful to every lawyer. So in 2017, Emelifeonwu and MacDaeid teamed up to launch Definely, an AI legal tech startup allowing lawyers to more seamlessly review and edit complex contracts. The company, based in the U.K., announced earlier this week a $30 million Series B from a mix of European and North American investors, including Revaia, Alumni Ventures, and Beacon Capital. It had previously raised a $7 million Series A last May. Definely offers a productivity suite to streamline the legal drafting and review process. It has a Draft feature that lets lawyers read contracts and navigate definitions and clauses without losing their place in the document; it has a Vault, that lets users insert clauses with a single click; it has a Proof feature, which uses AI to check for inconsistencies and broken cross-references, and it has a PDF feature that lets users extract and analyze points from scanned legal documents. 'Looking ahead, we're building on these capabilities with an agentic AI system we recently launched called Enhance,' Emelifeonwu said, adding that it has AI agents that work with Microsoft Word. 'These agents collaborate to complete tasks across drafting, reviewing, and proofreading, streamlining work for legal professionals where they already operate.' Emelifeonwu described the fundraising process this time around as 'arduous.' 'A close second [word] might be rewarding,' he said. The company met this round's lead investor, Revaia, through an introduction. The rest of the investors came to the company directly. 'We didn't reach out to one investor during Series B.' The fresh capital will be used to further the company's expansion into the U.S., which now accounts for 30% of the company's revenue, it says. It also hopes to further invest in the AI space and hire more employees. Others working in the legal contract space in this way include the companies Luminance, Robin AI, and ContractPodAi. Emelifeonwu, a Nigerian immigrant in the U.K., said he dreamed of being a lawyer since he was a kid but once he became one, he was hit with the entrepreneurial spirit. 'I've always had ideas, and I explored a few, but when the right idea came along, one that tapped directly into the challenges I experienced firsthand as a lawyer, I knew I had to pursue it,' he continued. He also understands the importance of such a big round when Black founders don't, statistically, account for much of the annual venture fundraising activity. 'Having raised fresh capital and building toward a truly global business, it's both a personal milestone and, I hope, a signal to others that it's possible,' he said. 'I want this to inspire the next wave of builders who may not come from traditional paths but have just as much potential to create lasting impact.' Sign in to access your portfolio
TECHx
23-05-2025
- Business
- TECHx
AI Threats Escalate in 2025 Cloud Security Report
Home » Emerging technologies » Cloud Computing » AI Threats Escalate in 2025 Cloud Security Report Gigamon, a leader in deep observability, has released its 2025 Hybrid Cloud Security Survey. The annual report revealed mounting pressure on hybrid cloud environments due to the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI). The third edition of the survey gathered responses from over 1,000 global Security and IT leaders. Findings showed a sharp rise in cyberthreats, with breach rates reaching 55 percent. This marks a 17 percent year-over-year increase. Gigamon reported that AI-generated attacks are a key driver behind this surge. Security and IT teams are struggling to cope. According to the World Economic Forum, the global cost of cybercrime is now estimated at $3 trillion. The report revealed organizations face challenges like fragmented cloud systems, limited intelligence, and ineffective security tools. Gigamon's study highlighted several critical trends: 46% of leaders ranked AI-generated threats as their top priority. 58% reported an increase in AI-powered ransomware, up from 41% in 2024. 47% said attacks on large language model (LLM) deployments are rising. Additionally, 91 percent of leaders admitted to making trade-offs when securing their hybrid cloud infrastructure. The lack of clean, high-quality data and poor visibility into lateral network movement were key reasons. Public cloud security is now under scrutiny. Gigamon revealed that 70 percent of leaders view it as the most risky environment. As a result, many organizations are reconsidering their strategies. Around 70 percent are thinking of moving data back to private clouds. Moreover, 54 percent are hesitant to use AI in public cloud setups due to concerns about intellectual property. Visibility remains a key concern. The report found that 64 percent of organizations plan to prioritize real-time threat monitoring. However, 55 percent lack confidence in their current tools' ability to detect breaches. Deep observability is gaining ground. Gigamon announced that 89 percent of respondents see it as vital for managing hybrid cloud security. Executive boards are also taking notice, with 83 percent now discussing deep observability as a strategic issue. Mark Jow, EMEA technical evangelist at Gigamon, stated that deep observability helps eliminate visibility gaps and restore control. He explained that integrating network-derived telemetry with MELT data enhances situational awareness. Freshfields CISO Mark Walmsley supported this view. He emphasized that visibility into AI systems and data flows is crucial. According to Walmsley, deep observability enables early threat detection and risk mitigation. Gigamon concluded that deep observability is quickly becoming essential for securing AI deployments and protecting hybrid cloud environments.
South China Morning Post
05-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong IPO filings rush in amid worries trade war may slam listing window shut
Advertisement In the first four months of this year, 112 companies submitted applications to list on the main board of the exchange, a 29 per cent increase from 87 in the same period last year, according to Post calculations based on exchange data. The pipeline grew rapidly last month, with 43 filings, twice the number seen in April 2024. If active submissions filed last year are included, 152 companies are waiting to list on Asia's third-largest bourse. 'Many companies are moving forward with their Hong Kong listings,' said Sherlyn Lau, Hong Kong-based partner at law firm Sidley Austin, adding that many firms were filing applications at an accelerated pace because they aimed to list by year's end. 'This pace contrasts sharply with last year's slower pipeline.' Driven by recent successful IPOs in the city and increasing investor interest in certain active sectors – including consumer, artificial intelligence, robotics, energy and biotech – companies were hoping for better valuations, she added. Advertisement 'They work on the basis that this momentum will continue through 2026, and want to be prepared when the window opens,' Lau said. While being cautiously optimistic about the city's IPO outlook for the rest of the year, Richard Wang, partner at law firm Freshfields, said the uncertainty in the US could impact the Hong Kong market.
