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The ESG mirage: More about the hype than values
Over the past century, critics of pure capitalism and market economy have argued that corporations should not only seek profit for shareholders, encouraging a more progressive view of social responsibility within the business community.
Nowadays, this agenda has been condensed into three letters – ESG – standing for environmental, social, and governance factors that can be embedded into business decisions. ESG is growing increasingly popular, however, Clarkson’s finding of 1995 sounds eerily similar to current complaints from the finance community on how confusing ESG is in practice – an unregulated and inconsistent marketplace filled with data gaps. Structurally, there is no actual system in place to measure, monitor, and regulate ESG.
Just look at the charts
1. Where have all the profits gone?
Source: Justin M. Overdorff
2. Annual mortgage payments in the US are now 35% higher
Source: Wall Street Silver
Today's stories
Stablecoin surpasses its larger rivals
UST is now the third-biggest stablecoin on the market after Tether's USDT and Circle's USD coin (USDC), which are still significantly larger in terms of market cap (CoinDesk)
Binance.US may receive a cold market response
Binance.US requires more disclosures from users and is a smaller exchange, which is wise to raise funds while it can, but mainstream acceptance will be slow (Financial Times)
Monzo's TS Anil on banking and work-life balance
The fintech startup’s boss always hoped it would make waves, but has only recently realized what his own career has meant to people of color in banking (The Guardian)
How do fintechs cook up their slogans?
Digital banks and fintechs typically don’t have a traditional community to appeal to when creating a marketing slogan -- they aim for something that sets them apart from traditional banks and credit unions (The Financial Brand)
Stem raises $20 million to provide artists with a "financial backbone"
Stem, a music tech startup focused on helping artists with distribution and payments, has raised $20 million in a new funding round (dot.LA)
Is SEC the lead regulator of the crypto world?
Two recent, highly technical proposals could solidify SEC's grasp on the U.S. crypto market, leading the industry to take another stand against what it sees as the wrong approach to government oversight (CoinDesk)
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