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Citi has carved out a non-mortgage-related ABS business line called global securitized products.

Sberbank, Russia’s largest savings bank, launched an $8.8 billion equity issue last month.

Colombia’s president, Alvaro Uribe, has appointed Oscar Ivan Zuluaga as his new finance minister following the resignation of Alberto Carrasquilla.

"The company could run very well without me" -Jim Simons, founder of Renaissance Technologies

Your average banker’s insatiable thirst for blood is one of the main reasons for the spectacular growth of financial markets in recent years. Now complementary industries are cashing in on this wolf-like appetite for the flesh of the departed.

According to lawyers, the Singapore Stock Exchange has issued an RFP for an adviser to rethink its efforts to attract hedge fund listings.

Peter Epstein has worked out what the hedge fund manager has missing in his/her life.

Dan Zelikow has joined the Inter-American Development Bank as its new chief operating officer.

In the our last issue in the Islamic finance awards section we incorrectly stated that Dubai International Bank had won the best Islamic bank in the Middle East award. It was in fact Dubai Islamic Bank.

Merrill Lynch has appointed John Crompton as managing director and head of equity capital markets for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Vietnam’s reforming bank market is learning the lessons of its northern cousin. Foreign banks are lining up to pour money into local banks, hungry for a position in what will be a lucrative, if crowded, domestic market.

Recent visitors to BNP Paribas’ London headquarters have been greeted by placards in the entrance hall that urge staff to "Be smart".

"Brazil and Mexico explain Latin America. The rest is beautiful places for a holiday"

"I’m nervous but I don’t know what I’m nervous about"

Sarah: "I would just like to check some figures with you, if that’s ok?"

Allan: "Figures, I bet you’ve got a lovely figure"

The final outcome of a much-rumoured rebranding exercise was not much of a surprise.

Last year’s rush by UK pension funds to de-risk, either via interest rate and inflation swap overlays or by switches out of equities and into fixed income, was headline-grabbing. Yield curves remain inverted but the headlines have gone. Roger James finds out why.

Citi has unveiled the management structure of its recently created fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) business unit.

Brad Craighead is returning to JPMorgan to run asset-backed origination in Europe. He will report to Oldrich Masek, head of the European securitization product group at the US bank, and will be responsible for the bank’s relationships with issuers.

With acquisition opportunities elsewhere in Latin America now few and far ­between, global banks are increasingly turning their attention to the economically vibrant and rapidly integrating central American region. Leticia Lozano reports.

Is this the start of a new funding route for corporates?

The Bank of England is planning to issue non-sterling medium-term debt to finance its foreign exchange reserves on an annual basis. The bank has mandated Barclays Capital, Citi, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan for the syndication. The first deal is likely to take place in the week of March 12: the Bank of England said, it will be a three-year US dollar transaction.

International media coverage of the late-January elections in Serbia tended to lead on the fact that the ultra-nationalist Radical Party – headed by Vojislav Seselj who has been indicted by the international tribunal in The Hague – won the most votes in the poll. However, the more important and more comforting fact is that a coalition from what is known as the democratic bloc of parties will ultimately form the new government in the Balkan republic.

Rated sovereigns in the Middle East and Africa are expected to show net borrowing decreases in 2007 because of large debt repayments, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Cairn Capital is on the road marketing the first managed constant proportion debt obligation. The deal, which is structured by JPMorgan, seeks to offer investors an improvement on static CPDOs and is proof of the rapid evolution in the product.

Barclays has announced the appointment of Matt Barrett as head of distressed debt and special situations investing. He is joined by two more new hires to work as managing directors in the same department, as Barclays looks to substantially increase its power in this market.

Nick Munns, David Frist and Chris Morrison are all believed to have left JPMorgan’s foreign exchange proprietary trading desk in London.

The search for yield has resulted in an increase in overseas investment. But according to a recent research note put out by State Street Global Advisors, fund managers might have been lulled into a false sense of security by the low volatility environment.

Foreign investors are starting to return to Argentina’s capital markets just five years after the country’s severe economic crisis. However, their confidence has been shaken following the government’s apparent manipulation of the inflation rate for January.