Euromoney February 1998
You could never get them together in one room at the same time. But, using the wonders of technology, Euromoney did the next best thing. We collected the views of seven top European bank chairmen and CEOs on the challenges facing the banking industry, and synthesized them into a virtual roundtable. Garry Evans moderated the discussion.
Euromoney February 1998
First he sat in the back seat, then he had his foot on the brake, now he's got one hand on the steering wheel! Is there no end to the risk manager's advancement into every aspect of risk-taking in a financial firm? Next he'll be right there in the driving seat, with traders, salesmen, corporate financiers and chief financial officers doing his bidding. So, is the risk manager turning into something else? By David Shirreff
Euromoney February 1998
In a time of fierce competition partly prompted by technological change, commercial banks are struggling hard to make decent margins from traditional business. Diversification into investment banking and derivatives trading has led to as many failures as successes. Suzanne Miller reports on alternative views on how the banks might turn an honest penny.
Euromoney February 1998
You thought banking was about money, markets and return on risk-adjusted assets. Not in the 21st century. The Banque Imaginaire exists because it had to be invented. It thrives on its wits, in the land of Cats and fat tails. David Shirreff reports.
Euromoney February 1998
Sinking under bad debts, stung by criticism of their poor profitability and shocked by the falling prestige of the ministry of finance, Japanese banks are talking about changing their way of doing things. But why should bankers risk damaging their careers, upsetting their customers who are also their biggest shareholders and putting their fellow citizens out of work by adopting western practices? One western analyst says if he was in charge of a big Japanese bank he wouldn't care about making a decent return on equity, so why should they? Steven Irvine reports.
Euromoney February 1998
A year after Bank Austria's deal to take over Creditanstalt, Gerhard Randa has cut the acquisition down to size. No more treasury, no more stand-alone overseas banking. Rump Creditanstalt is a domestic bank that will live or die on somewhat hollow competition. As David Shirreff reports, it's all rather a comedown for this once very blue-blooded bank.
Euromoney February 1998
Weak and unreliable may be their image but the best emerging-market banks are among the most robust in the world. Faced with hyperinflation, political instability and crippling credit crunches, they need to be tough to survive. Along the way they have turned into centres of excellence. Euromoney picked banks from widely differing regions to illustrate this winning streak. They are Brazil's Itau, Poland's Handlowy, Taiwan's Shanghai & Commercial Savings Bank, the UAE's Mashreq, South Africa's Investec and Ghana's Social Security Bank.
Euromoney February 1998
Retail banking is undergoing dramatic change. New delivery mechanisms such as the internet and aggressive new competitors such as supermarkets will eat into the easy profits previously enjoyed by retail banks. Can the big banks see off the threats? Rebecca Bream reports.
Euromoney February 1998
To many of the small family-owned firms of Switzerland's Lac Léman, private banking is still all about providing a discreet service to those old-money Europeans who still have time to contemplate their investments amid champagne corks and peacocks. But the leisurely approach of these private bankers is under threat from aggressive global institutions who see private banking as nothing less than a personalized form of investment banking. Jules Stewart reports.
Euromoney February 1998
Developers used to put up offices for banks on a speculative basis. Now banks' requirements have become too specialized for this to work. In the late 1990s building boom in London, the trend is for the major houses to design their own. Philip Eade reports on the many projects underway.
Euromoney February 1998
France has long maintained a proprietorial attitude towards its national treasures, including both financial institutions and the French language. But now, though the Académie Française rejects the use of such imported terms, corporate governance and shareholder value are becoming common currency. Some banks are even putting the ideas into practice. Tess Read reports.
