The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has finally done what critics have been calling on it to do for years. In May, it exercised new anti-money laundering powers and for the first time pulled the licence of a suspect bank. However, rather than prompting congratulations to the CBR, the closure of Sodbiznesbank nearly sparked a crisis.

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Never mind the rumoured $500 million sale of guitar maker Fender. If just one of its guitars is touched by the hand of God, it can raise $1 million by itself.

The development of instruments that match investors' views on defaults, recovery rates and correlations with leverage and return targets represents a fundamental change in fixed-income investing. However, to take advantage of these opportunities, investors need new infrastructure and new risk-management skills.

The annual Euromoney Awards for Excellence are a crucial benchmark of the global banking industry. Now in their 13th year, the awards recognize the finest banks across the world in a range of disciplines, including debt, M&A, equity, cash management and much more.

Managing director, Citigroup Private Bank Peter White confesses to having no financial background and very little financial knowledge. Yet for the past four-and-a-half years, he has been managing director of Citigroup Private Bank’s family advisory practice. Thankfully, his role there is completely non-financial in nature.