Fund raised €8 billion in June; Calls for EFSF Greek debt exchange

The IFC’s response to the banking crisis in emerging Europe could offer guidance for those seeking a solution to Greece’s woes.

Local and international players are trying to break into the growing onshore Middle East private banking market. But dealing with the world’s wealthiest families poses big challenges. In the first part of Euromoney’s Middle East roundtable on private banking, participants discuss their individual models, and how the financial crisis has affected their clients.

The Hungarian government last month announced details of its long-awaited mortgage relief plan, designed to help households deal with rising repayments on loans denominated in foreign currencies following the depreciation of the forint against the Swiss franc and euro.

Unlikely to threaten OTC market; Other exchanges chase incumbent CME

There are doubts that the peripheral countries have the will to cut and tax their way to stability. That leaves growth as the way to balance the books. Where will it come from?

Global banks have their uses but local firms are proving best adapted to this rising region.

Corporate issuers bring volumes to $1.5 billion; End of the long-duration trade?

CEOs can be forced to testify; Accused companies face difficulties in counter-suing

ICMA chairmanship passes from one BarCap banker to another.

Wider LatAm agreements planned; Brazil to introduce high-frequency trading

Corruption rife in Afghan banks, says CEO; Can fragile state survive another crash?

Evolution of its financial system gives confidence that the economy will not overheat.

"You should give it to us because we are nice and there are an awful lot of pricks in this business"

Although the process of banks lobbying to win Euromoney’s Awards for excellence can be a time-consuming and frustrating process for both sides, it does offer up the occasional lighthearted diversion. Among these one enjoyable annual feature is the backfiring pitch, in which a bank emerges from the meeting with perhaps less chance of winning the award than if it had not bothered at all.

Five failed Russian IPOs in London this year; Realistic pricing key for successful deals

JPMorgan did a fine job in downplaying the significance of its recent payment of $153.6 million to the SEC to settle accusations of fraud over a mortgage-backed CDO squared product from 2007. The SEC had alleged that JPMorgan was negligent in failing to disclose the role that hedge fund Magnetar played in selecting the mortgages in the synthetic CDO, then taking the short side of the credit derivatives trades used to create the portfolio.

Default at its telecoms operator might soon add to Ireland’s woes.

The flurry of deals among stock exchanges is a fight for relevance in a world in which regulation and technology have lowered barriers to entry. It is a battle the London Stock Exchange lost many years ago.

Infrastructure and fuel inflation drive issuance; AfDB creates domestic bond index

Amid the storm of accusations, counter-accusations and recriminations that has characterized the developing China overseas-listed stock scandal, much more has been written and said about the question of whether the companies involved are scams than what might have driven these alleged frauds to mislead their investors in the first place.

Fears over market-unfriendly policies rise; But are not justified says BAML banker

Region contributes 43% of group income; Argentine unit prepares for IPO

More Chinese companies listed in the US are considering going private as scandals dogging the sector harm their valuations, according to investment bankers working with those companies.

Ten years after 9/11 and the discounted leases that were issued to keep retailers from leaving the World Financial Center are up. Brookfield Properties is now stepping in with a $250 million plan to revamp the mall and office building that sits opposite the World Trade Center site. The property developer is adding a glass pavilion to host a 600-seat dining space, and is also planning an indoor food market.

Growing concern in the US that a Greek default could prove to be Europe’s equivalent of the Lehman Brothers collapse threatens to exacerbate trans-Atlantic tensions and spoil trading prospects for global investment banks.

Local players still dominate; International banks target market share

Nathaniel Rothschild’s latest investment vehicle pits huge reward potential against substantial downside risk.

$4 billion loan in return for oil; China bolsters strategic relationships in South America