A decade after Malaysia sold the first global sovereign sukuk, the market is growing from strength to strength, as are the traditional Islamic finance leaders.

"Your e-mail on all these once-upon-a-time masters of the universe, crammed into a first-class cabin, made me laugh. It’s like a rock band who are now a bit past their prime but still want to be loved."

In a buoyant year for international bond issuance from Latin America, structural innovation was what counted, rather than the size and pricing records that were broken. In the equity markets, which, in Brazil at least, were quiescent, persistence and a high regard for a fair deal for investors were crucial.

As the wider markets struggled with macroeconomic threats, several deals across asset classes stood out.

The region’s debt markets benefited handsomely from global flows into emerging markets. The deals with the most impact were ones that brought more than just bulging order books and wafer-thin spreads.

In the Middle East rising sukuk issuance gave a new angle to the global emerging market debt boom. Sovereigns and supranationals launched daring benchmark deals, while in sub-Saharan Africa an outrageous last-gasp hijacking of a deal redefined the way China approaches M&A.

Supported by strong economic growth, China’s domestic private banking sector has been developing rapidly. But could a lack of education and mounting competition from overseas stall its progress?

The markets had another volatile year in 2012, but there are signs of green shoots for the global economy. The heads of the largest global private banks discuss how they are ensuring that their clients are well-positioned for 2013.

Euromoney celebrates the 10th anniversary of its private banking survey this year. It has been a decade of changes driven by globalization and transparency. Despite a global financial crisis, a eurozone meltdown and a regulatory overhaul, the top-five global private banks have retained their standings.

"Scaling down an investment bank, particularly its derivatives positions, is a bit like shutting down a nuclear reactor. That’s something you do only very slowly and by keeping all your best and highest-paid engineers to do it"

UBS and Credit Suisse compete on everything in Switzerland – private banking, corporate accounts, retail clients, you name it.

The annual Private Banking and wealth management survey provides a qualitative and quantitative review of the best services in private banking, by region and by areas of service. It is an informative guide for high net-worth individuals on the range of professional wealth management service providers that are available.

International capital markets underwent a remarkable recovery last year as bond and equity markets soared, creating a fertile dealmaking environment that few had foreseen at the start of the year. By the end, an impressive volume and variety of capital raisings had hit the markets, highlighting a voracious appetite for risk and complexity that bankers were only too happy to satisfy. Even in M&A.

By cutting back its investment bank sharply, UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti has laid down a challenge to competitors. It now seems that the private bankers wielding power at the top of UBS want to keep fair chunks of the investment bank. Has Ermotti found the keys to a resurgent UBS?

Some $30 trillion will transfer from the baby-boomers to their children and grandchildren in the next 30 years. These younger generations think differently and bank differently. Private banks must adapt their businesses to ensure the money stays with them.

"Euromoney is of course the exception here, but I really do get yanked-off with the UK press in particular banging on about the how dead the European IPO market is. It’s not. It’s alive. There are any number of perfectly good companies out there. You just can’t list rubbish"

The great and the good of the world descended on Davos in Switzerland for their annual love-in high in the mountains last month. Sage sound bites rolled off the tongues of prime ministers, titans of industry and commentators, cascading down the Alps like an avalanche of strategy.

The collapse in interest rates means that rich Brazilians will have to grapple with riskier investments offering less liquidity if they are to maintain investment returns. Private bankers are up for the challenge of providing them.

An issue of this magazine published in 1986 that contained several striking historical markers surfaced at Euromoney’s London headquarters last month. In a year when Liverpool were first-division (precursor of the Premier League) champions, Mike Tyson became world heavyweight champion and crooner Chris be Burgh topped the UK charts with his fantastically cheesy ode to a Lady in Red, Euromoney was writing stories about the birth of Canary Wharf and how stock exchanges were losing business to the telephone market.

Bankers don’t get a lot of love these days. The industry’s annual awards ceremonies have therefore become a very rare opportunity for them to spend an evening relaxing and enjoying themselves without having to pretend to be estate agents.

Justin Bieber has found himself in a sticky situation thanks to MasterCard. In November last year he agreed to endorse the company’s BillMyParents pre-paid card that is aimed at teenagers. In January he announced that he would use his social network machine to endorse the card. Bieber has some 30 million Twitter followers and 48 million Facebook fans. Not all followers and fans are happy with his choice.

The mini-deal reached to avert the US fiscal cliff offers no solution to excessive public borrowing, which has to be dealt with by the end of this month.

With mandatory Single Euro Payment Area compliance due in February 2014, laggard companies have little time to put their payment and remittances systems in order, especially those dealing with direct debits.

What does the future hold for family ownership and oversight at Al Rajhi Bank?

In an interview in his office in Riyadh, Suliman Azzabin, chief executive of Al Rajhi Bank, pours scorn on allegations that link his bank to terrorist financing repeated in the US Senate report on HSBC last year. So what is Al Rajhi Bank in 2013 really, and how is it still making so much money?

Low yields might trigger return to equity; inflows sustained by central bank policy

Refocus on growth regions; CEE insurance sector consolidating

Aldar, Sorouh agree merger; State to hold 37% of combined entity

Allegations linked to film star girlfriend; CEO had overseen IPO boom

Improved eurozone sentiment has seen sterling lose its safe-haven status and has renewed worries about the UK’s credit rating.