Weekly Global News Wrap Up: London's banking hub status under threat; Banks intensify cyber security after ransomware attack

And check out why Islamic banks' double digit growth rates are now over.

From Bloomberg: London has flourished as a financial center for decades in part because global banks, from offices around the bustling City of London district, could sell their services freely around the European Union’s 28-nation trading bloc. Now that British voters have decided to leave the EU — the complicated international divorce known as Brexit — the city’s status as a banking hub is under threat. If U.K. firms lose easy access to Europe’s $19 trillion economy, which seems likely under the terms laid out by Prime Minister Theresa May, Britain becomes a far less attractive place to do business.

From Reuters:  Banks have tightened their security systems and increased their surveillance after the global cyber assault on individuals and organisations worldwide. Capitalising on spying tools believed to have been developed by the U.S. National Security Agency, the "ransomware" attack launched on Friday has infected tens of thousands of computers in 104 countries, putting the financial industry on high alert.

From Reuters: Islamic banks have continued to expand their balance sheets and capital buffers, but the era of double-digit growth rates could be coming to an end while asset quality concerns creep up, an industry oversight body said on Tuesday. Islamic finance, which has its core markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, follows religious principles that forbid interest and shun outright speculation, and as such is seen as an alternative to interest-based banking.