In this second miniseries of Season 2, "Global Finance", we're wrestling with the strangeness of living in a world that aspires to a level of global integration our current systems can't support - and maybe don't want to. The internet age gives the impression of easy connectivity, but the reality is quite different for those trying to make and send money to a great many struggling nation-states. In this episode, we reflect on the fragility of money transfer systems for everyday clients.

REFERENCES

Adrian, Tobias. "Cross-Border Payments for the 21st Century", IMF Podcasts. 2023. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Podcasts/All-Podcasts/2023/01/19/tobias-adrian-cross-border-payments

Guiliano, Paola and Marta Ruiz-Arranz. "Remittances, Financial Development, and Growth", IMF Working Report. 2005. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2005/wp05234.pdf

It's A Wonderful Life. 1946.

Migration Data Portal. "Remittances". 2023. https://www.migrationdataportal.org/themes/remittances

Rice, Tara et al. "On the global retreat of correspondent banks", BIS Quarterly Review, 2020. https://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qt2003g.htm

Teixeira da Silva Filho, Tito Nicias. "Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Fintech Hype Meets Reality in the Remittances Market", IMF Working Paper, 2022. https://www.imf.org/-/media/Files/Publications/WP/2022/English/wpiea2022233-print-pdf.ashx

Treanor, Jill and Dominic Rushe. "HSBC pays record $1.9bn fine to settle US money-laundering accusations", The Guardian. 2012. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/dec/11/hsbc-bank-us-money-laundering

Woodman, Spencer. "HSBC moved vast sums of dirty money after paying record laundering fine", International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, 2020. https://www.icij.org/investigations/fincen-files/hsbc-moved-vast-sums-of-dirty-money-after-paying-record-laundering-fine/