payments News

From Enron to Wirecard – Big 4 Accounting Firms Still Face Systemic Problems

Two decades of financial disasters from Enron Inc.’s collapse in 2001 to Wirecard AG’s meltdown have left the Big Four accounting firms facing a major cultural problem that regulators may struggle to resolve. The 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) missing …

Allianz Ends Relationship with Wirecard Amid Accounting Scandal

Allianz said on Wednesday that it was ending its relationship with Wirecard Bank and removing from the market a mobile payment app that the two companies had developed. The move is further fallout in corporate Germany amid an accounting scandal …

Former CEO of Wirecard Arrested in Accounting Scandal Involving Missing $2.1 Billion

FRANKFURT – Wirecard’s former boss was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of falsifying accounts, after the German payments firm disclosed a $2.1 billion financial hole and questioned whether trustees had actually held money on its behalf. Markus Braun turned himself …

UK Insurers Paying $26.6 Million a Day for June Floods ABI Reports

Insurers are set to pay up to £500 million [$782.3 million] or £17 million [$26.6 million] every day – to customers who have suffered flood and storm damage during the wettest June on record, according to latest estimates from the …

EXCLUSIVE – Somali Pirate Kingpins Enjoy ‘Impunity’ Say UN Experts

Somalia’s president has shielded a top pirate leader from arrest by issuing him a diplomatic passport, according to a United Nations investigation which criticizes the “climate of impunity” enjoyed by pirate kingpins in Somalia and abroad. The U.N. Monitoring Group …

Lloyd’s Market Association Issues Guidance in Case of Euro Exit

The Lloyds’s Market Association (LMA) has joined central banks and other financial instiutions in preparing for a possible euro zone exit. It has issued a “note” giving insurers and brokers guidance on what they should be prepared to do in …

Louisiana Town May Pay Damage Claims from Sewage-Caused Flooding

The Sorrento Town Council in Louisiana has voted 3-0 to pay claims by residents whose homes were flooded and soiled by backups from the town’s troubled sewer system. The Advocate reports the vote on April 4 gave Mayor Pro Tem …

Insurers in Delaware Diocese Bankruptcy Balk at $15 Million Payout

A dispute over insurance payments is threatening to blow up the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington’s bankruptcy reorganization plan. Under the plan, the diocese, its parishes and affiliated entities, would be released from legal claims related to priest sex abuse in …

Australia Flood, Cyclone Claims Assessments near Completion Says ICA

According to a bulletin on its web site, the Insurance Council of Australia has released updated figures on “how the general industry has responded to the enormous task of assessing over 118,000 insurance claims received as a result of the …

RAA Affirms Industry Can Handle Japan Catastrophe

The Reinsurance Association of America has issued a reassuring bulletin that the industry can not only cope with the recent losses from the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, but will also remain prepared to handle future disasters as well. …