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October 2009

October 2009

Nomura comes out fighting

Euromoney October 2009

A year after acquiring Lehman Brothers’ Asian and European businesses, Nomura says it is halfway to building a global investment bank. Few people outside the firm think it will succeed. To some, it is already the ‘other Lehman takeover’. But Nomura’s leaders are determined to win the battle. Lawrence White and Helen Avery report.

Banking

Bank of England: Tucker’s tough message

Euromoney October 2009

Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker understands bankers’ fear of excessive regulation, but he’s not easing up. He insists banks should improve the quality of their capital and sees no role for subordinated debt. He wants strong banks to blow the whistle on the weak and to know that, in future, the shareholders of survivors will pick up the tab for bailing out the system. Peter Lee reports.

North America

North America: Small-town banks with big ideas

Euromoney October 2009

A romantic, old-fashioned style of banking business is enjoying a revival in the US. Smaller banks are gaining customers who are disillusioned with their bigger, national competitors. The White House is encouraging the trend. But should they be worried about banks that are too small to be saved?

Cash management

Cash management poll 2009: More power to the regions

Euromoney October 2009

Regional and multi-regional cash management banks have a chance to expand their markets and force global providers to rethink what they offer. Will they seize their opportunity? Laurence Neville reports.

Cash management: Smoother flows for public pipelines

Euromoney October 2009

Governments and the broader public sector are increasingly seeking the sort of service improvements that can draw on cash management specialists’ expertise. Laurence Neville reports.

Emerging Europe

Alfa sheds light on Russia’s troubles

Euromoney October 2009

Along with its peers Russia’s Alfa Bank has been battered and bruised by the financial and economic crisis. Its president, Petr Aven, tells Sudip Roy how the bank is battening down the hatches.

Emerging market funds: New skills for new markets

Euromoney October 2009

SW Asset Management, a new fixed-income fund, is demonstrating its enthusiasm for emerging market firms by investing in their debt and exploring the credit default swap market. Dominic O’Neill reports.

Credit

Credit markets: Reversal of fortune

Euromoney October 2009

The spectacular rally in the US high-yield market this year has spilled over to Europe, raising the tantalizing prospect that, after several false starts, this asset class could finally establish itself. Louise Bowman reports.

Structured products

Structured products: Struggling to structure in Italy

Euromoney October 2009

Italian insurers suffered badly from the Lehman bankruptcy thanks to investments in structured notes. The result is a regulatory shake-up to fundamentally change the way structured products are sold and distributed. John Ferry reports.

Banking news & analysis

Morgan Stanley: Gorman aims for the top on Wall Street

Euromoney October 2009

Morgan Stanley’s incoming CEO explains strategy; Mack and Chammah take new responsibilities

Credit exposures: Barclays pays up for Protium protection

Euromoney October 2009

Bank capital: Natixis sets a new benchmark

Euromoney October 2009

Guarantees from its parent remove the big risks; It sets out modest targets for a return to profitability

Boutiques: Heritage aims for mid-market

Euromoney October 2009

New firms target middle-market clients via strategic alliances; Private banks and family offices seen as possible rich vein

Capital markets: Citi equities team emerges from rehab

Euromoney October 2009

Markets news & analysis

Prime brokerage: Primed for expansion again

Euromoney October 2009

Three become five as clients choose multi primes; JPMorgan expands Bear Stearns’ platform

Debt markets: SSA dollar issuance surges

Euromoney October 2009

Convertible bonds: Leverage and structure risk return for convertibles

Euromoney October 2009

Convertibles are attractive but illiquid; Investors are desperate for new issues

Foreign exchange: CME goes for over-the-counter clearance

Euromoney October 2009

Keen to avoid pitfalls of FXMarketSpace; Flexibility and cooperation key

FX: UBS beefs up

Euromoney October 2009

FX: Welcome to the Wocu

Euromoney October 2009

FX: FTSE Group launches its currency indices

Euromoney October 2009

FX: PowerFill+: Barclays throws down the e-com gauntlet

Euromoney October 2009

FX: Goldman Sachs joins CLS/Icap joint venture

Euromoney October 2009

Asia news & analysis

Sri Lanka’s bond makes a peacetime benchmark

Euromoney October 2009

Sovereign tests appetite for a $500mln bond; Government confident of strong growth

Japan: Amid turmoil, Morgan Stanley gains local clout

Euromoney October 2009

Daiwa, Nikko split from commercial partners; Kirin/Suntory shows corporate Japan’s pragmatism

China: Citi hires Tsang in private-sector push

Euromoney October 2009

Investment Banking: Geoghegan moves

Euromoney October 2009

The news that HSBC’s chief executive, Michael Geoghegan, will move to Hong Kong has been greeted as further proof of the importance of Asia to the world’s top banking franchises.

Latin America news & analysis

Economy: Brazil is cautiously optimistic about recovery

Euromoney October 2009

Stimulus measures to be retained; New oil finds boost growth prospects

Investment banking: Tapping LatAm-China links

Euromoney October 2009

US venture focuses on private sector deals; Two-way trade growing

Investment management: Bradesco pushes ahead

Euromoney October 2009

Ecuador: Pichincha rides the storm

Euromoney October 2009

EEMEA news & analysis

Ukraine: Naftogaz set for success on restructuring

Euromoney October 2009

Terms of bond offer announced; Company has 21 days to complete restructuring

Islamic banking: Al Baraka expands in hard times

Euromoney October 2009

Credit-quality and profit-growth troubles; Subsidiary in Syria to undertake IPO

France moves to boost Islamic finance

Euromoney October 2009

Investment banking: GFH raises cash for new strategy

Euromoney October 2009

Hopes to raise equity up to $500 million; Turns away from real estate development

Rare launch of a CIS fixed-income hedge fund

Euromoney October 2009

Two former JPMorgan bankers have launched a hedge fund that invests in fixed-income instruments in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Comment

US bank failures: FDIC in a fix

Euromoney October 2009

Sheila Bair is running short of funds. But she is right to want to raise them in a way that doesn’t create a panic.

Hybrids still on the menu

Euromoney October 2009

Hybrid capital may no longer be welcome in the US and Europe but it is playing a valuable role in the emerging markets.

UK RMBS: A step in the right direction

Euromoney October 2009

Lloyds’ bumper RMBS is good news but it doesn’t fix the market.

Banking: As others retreat, HSBC moves to profit

Euromoney October 2009

HSBC moves its chief executive to Asia not a moment too soon, as it seeks to grow earnings while international banks pull back.

China: SOEs threaten derivatives defaults

Euromoney October 2009

A worrying trend has surfaced in emerging markets as volatility hit China’s hedging contracts.

Budget: Turkey’s mysterious saviour

Euromoney October 2009

Ankara ought to reveal the source of a $15 billion windfall in its budget.

Fiscal deficits: Mexico makes little progress

Euromoney October 2009

Calderón needs tougher measures to solve the fiscal deficit problem.

Columns

Abigail Hofman: Barclays – Misguided or misjudged?

Euromoney October 2009

In December 2008, I wrote a piece about Barclays, criticizing the expensive £7 billion capital-raising from Middle East investors and the decision to purchase Lehman’s US broker-dealer last September when the outlook for investment banking was at its most opaque. The article elicited howls of outrage from Barclays’ supporters. One indignant reader snorted: “I am encouraged by your criticism of Barclays’ management.”

Abigail Hofman: Morgan Stanley's succession story

Euromoney October 2009

I congratulate Morgan Stanley’s board for having made a decision rather than tiptoeing around the succession story until it became the elephant in the room. But there will be challenges ahead.

Abigail Hofman: The rise of restructuring

Euromoney October 2009

Bankers like to think of themselves as entrepreneurs and when the leveraged finance market died many specialists were reborn as restructuring professionals.

Abigail Hofman: Tarp and the Whistleblower Hotline

Euromoney October 2009

Merckle may have committed suicide because his empire was floundering but if I were a senior manager of a bank that is still in receipt of funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp), I might feel a little suicidal myself. In late September, I read a document enticingly entitled: ‘Practical considerations for implementing a luxury expenditures policy’, produced by Navigant Consulting. I don’t think I have laughed so much since details of the refurbishment of former Merrill CEO John Thain’s office surfaced.

Inside investment: Speak no evil

Euromoney October 2009

Policymakers like to talk up the dollar. But an orderly decline of the greenback would be no bad thing.

Against the tide: What’s the UK’s exit strategy?

Euromoney October 2009

Gordon Brown’s government has no clear strategy for dealing with the budget deficit. Nor does its likely successor, the Conservatives led by David Cameron.

Investment banking: The edge of reason

Euromoney October 2009

Investment bankers have always had a reputation for innovation – perhaps one they want to downplay right now. But a tour of the leading capital markets houses on Wall Street, almost a year to the day after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, gave the impression that they had learnt a new skill: the ability to bend time.

Investment banking: Generational change

Euromoney October 2009

A flurry of announcements during September heralds the end of an era in US banking. The banks themselves will hope it also presages a new, calmer period for their own institutions and the financial markets.

Front End

Palin into insignificance

Euromoney October 2009

Confidence training for cowed CEOs: Coach yourself to success

Euromoney October 2009

The leaders of the world’s banking industry will be relieved to know that someone is there to help them overcome their inhibitions and rebuild their damaged egos.

Geithner receives a phone call: Cry babies or fighting titans?

Euromoney October 2009

BGC comes up trumps again: Annual Global Charity Day

Euromoney October 2009

On September 11 BGC Partners held its Annual Global Charity Day, involving the slightly bizarre sight of well-known (and indeed not-so-well-known) celebrities wandering around the inter-dealer broker’s trading floors taking calls from clients.

Quotes of the month

Euromoney October 2009

Off the record

Euromoney October 2009

Research guides

The 2009 guide to liquidity management

Euromoney October 2009

The global financial climate has forced treasurers to focus on making the best use of resources, wherever they may be. Technological developments are making that easier, but they are also having to cope with a tighter regulatory environment.

The 2009 guide to Portugal

Euromoney October 2009

Published in conjunction with: Banco Santander Totta Caixa - Banco de Investimento


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