HSBC and Credit Suisse win top honours in Euromoney Awards for Excellence; Ackermann receives Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to Financial Markets

Of the few global banks to have survived without state assistance, HSBC is the best positioned in the most attractive emerging economies. Its global banking and markets business is thriving. Its rights issue confirmed it as a better credit than many governments, and deposits have flooded in. Regulators will force other banks to copy it. Best of all, it has admitted its mistakes. Peter Lee reports.

Brady Dougan and Paul Calello stripped down Credit Suisse’s investment banking vehicle as the credit crisis hit. Now they’re showing off a streamlined, non-polluting, yet powerful firm that even their competitors admire. Is Credit Suisse the model of a new investment bank? Clive Horwood reports.

Roberto Isolani, co-head of global capital markets at UBS, is to leave the bank this summer. Isolani spent just over two years in London after he was recalled from Italy to run debt capital markets. He is a 17-year veteran of UBS who was elevated to co-head of capital markets alongside Matthew Koder just over a year ago when the troubled Swiss bank merged ECM and DCM.

$16 billion in Reit offerings have been made in Q2; Reits eye distressed debt opportunities

Lenient treatment of property assets acquired in debt-for-equity swaps shows regulators are still worried by systemic vulnerabilities.

Equity derivatives dealers responding to difficult trading environment; New products to cope with volatility and counterparty risk

FX retail leader might look offshore; Regulators’ moves “may not help investors”

Steady supply for three months shows market is back; Sub-investment-grade names welcomed

Selling BGI removes restrictions on Barclays Capital; The firm can now deal with US mutual and pension funds

US bank consolidation is hanging fire; Will private equity firms jumpstart the market?

Fortis acquisition gives unprecedented scale; Organic growth continues in France, Italy

There is a group of investors who don’t feel comfortable unless there’s a benchmark to use. So clearly there’s a need for indices that measure movements in FX.

IMF credit line brings into question robustness of country’s economy.

Time won’t solve problems; Transparency is paramount

Saxo Bank has purchased stakes in two specialist asset managers, taking the entire share capital of Capital Four Management and 51% of Global Evolution.

Officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council have set 2013 as the new deadline for the region’s common currency, according to Standard Chartered, quoting local media reports. The initial deadline for the project was 2010 but progress has been slow and complex, with both Oman and the UAE pulling out of the union. Despite this, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have decided to go ahead. But Standard Chartered says that even if the union is effected, excluding the UAE means the region’s second-largest and most diversified economy will be outside it.

Financial troubles are plaguing some of the Gulf’s most prominent families.

Re-remics salvage value from battered CMBS.

The CDS market is hoping that the move to central clearing will silence its critics. It could be disappointed.

Firm’s role in AIA offering shows it is a player to reckon with in the region.

BofA president bullish on prospects; Firm maintains top three revenue slot

Emerging markets companies buying western assets must heed the lessons of Cemex and Tata Motors.

The retiring chairman of Rabobank urges a new model of bank ownership; The view from a survivor is that the worst may be to come

Boutique investment bank expanding in fixed-income trading; Plans origination expansion and a push into Europe

Corporate, not real estate, is key; White Tower teeters on the brink

Aedy begins to build team; Restructuring opportunities top of agenda

In Citi’s desperate attempt to win the coveted best bank in Honduras award it drew on all its staff’s experiences from the past 12 months. In the column entitled 2008 Recognition & Awards, the US bank was proud to announce its community service prize... all well and good. But it was also keen to bring to Euromoney’s attention its prowess on the sporting field: "First place in the Basketball Bank Association League, Male Category."

Running a bank in Qatar appears to be getting easier all the time. The local government’s latest bailout plan for its financial sector will involve the state clearing up to $4.1 billion of troubled real estate loans and investment from lenders’ balance sheets.

Dramatic fall in growth; Bankruptcy looms without bailout funds