Cricket obsessives are easy to spot. Get them on the subject of the sport, and within a few minutes they will have displayed the tell-tale sign: the instinctive push of the forearm, extending from the elbow, hand angled back – the classic mimicking of a batman’s technique. And from his desk at Deutsche Bank, Anshu Jain needed little excuse to show you his immaculate forward defensive.

The European Central Bank has made clear that it would look favourably on big bank mergers to create stronger pan-eurozone lenders. But M&A between large lenders in different eurozone states is still stalling through financial and political fragmentation – despite hopes for a closer union after Brexit and the war in Ukraine.

The European Central Bank has gone out of its way to encourage cross-border mergers that might strengthen the single market in banking. Supervisory board member Edouard Fernandez-Bollo tells Euromoney that this could include mergers between large institutions.

A new chairman and chief executive at the Swiss bank once again struggle with how to build an investment bank for tomorrow from one that is floundering badly today.

Markets welcome surprise 50bp hike but question new bond-buying programme and ECB’s capacity to judge spread widening as unwarranted.

Xi Jinping wants a smooth path to his re-appointment as president in November. But his zero-Covid policy, slowing growth and bank runs in central China mean that path is looking increasingly bumpy.

The top ranks of Philippine finance are shuffling after the election of Bongbong Marcos as president. Felipe Medalla takes the reins at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, where he faces a challenge in fostering economic recovery while keeping inflation from getting out of hand.

Banks want to capitalize on the surge in green capex borrowing as corporates rush to decarbonize. Cost inflation has increased the risks involved but not the long-term benefit of carbon reduction.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision adds another piece to the global regulatory puzzle with its principles on management and supervision of climate risk, after global demands for a harmonized framework applicable to the international banking sector.

Rising interest margins help Spain’s biggest domestic bank more than most, but intense competition in mortgages means that fee-earning products are still vital.

Bernd Spalt’s rift with his board shows Austria’s biggest bank is still finding its way in the post-Treichl era, even as it outperforms peers.

The Duterte presidency had many problems, but it gave the Philippine central bank and finance ministry room to enact significant change in tax, digital reach, infrastructure and fiscal policy. OF Bank will be among its legacies.

Banks in the Gulf are embracing blockchain, fintech, cryptocurrencies and AI as they look to cater to changing consumer demands and a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

Since its establishment at the COP26 conference in 2021, the International Sustainability Standards Board has been busy drafting its first standards. Now they are out for consultation, but ISSB chair Emmanuel Faber is already looking beyond them and to the organization’s broader mission.

As their involvement in fintech matures, large banks are focusing on building standalone digital businesses rather than just taking stakes in third-party startups through venture capital funds and accelerators. Can these new in-house ventures disprove the thesis that incumbent banks can’t create disruptive business models?

DBS’s purchase of Citi’s local consumer business in January was a timely reminder of Taiwan’s allure. Yes, the island lies on a geopolitical fault line and the banking sector is crowded. But it’s also profitable and now welcomes digital disruption.

Kyrylo Shevchenko, governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, has been corresponding with Euromoney as war rages in his country. Here he tells us how the central bank has kept the banking system operational and protected the currency in extraordinary circumstances.

The attack follows the introduction of new foreign currency rules.