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Andrea Orcel has upended received wisdom about European bank M&A with the realistic prospect of a UniCredit takeover of Commerzbank. The spirit of European integration is on his side, and even if nationalist forces win – perhaps via a Deutsche Bank merger – there could be benefits for the Italian firm.

Euromoney celebrated the achievements of the world's best banks with a dinner in London on July 12. See all the photos here

Once considered a niche domain reserved for institutional giants and venture capital elites, private markets are undergoing a significant transformation, marked by ease of investor access and the pervasive influence of technological innovation. Laurie McAughtry explores how the relationship between private and public markets is becoming increasingly intertwined – and what this could mean for capital formation on a global scale.

On paper, Francophone Africa’s economic landscape looks conducive to investment and integration. There is the West African Economic and Monetary Union, which comprises eight countries that share a currency - the West African CFA franc - and a central bank. Another five francophone countries are part of the Central African CFA franc zone. A dozen countries with only two currencies and two central banks should be favourable to financial coordination - but the reality is quite different.

The history of financing for African agriculture has gone through a series of false dawns. State-led credit in the years after independence gave way to market reforms and microfinance in the 1980s. Warehouse receipts and value chain finance aimed to tempt banks into lending with produce as collateral. But these solutions all fell short of being truly transformative. Now, it is agricultural technology, or agtech, shouldering hopes of revolutionising lending in a sector critical to the continent’s future.

With the US successfully transitioned to a T+1 settlement cycle and the UK and Europe well on the way, what does the future look like and how will trade processes change? Experts at the FIX EMEA Trading Conference told Euromoney’s head of capital markets Laurie McAughtry that automation is everything – but it does not need to break the bank.

Key learnings from Mashreq Bank, voted by 13,500+ corporates in Euromoney’s Trade Finance Survey 2025 as the best trade finance provider in Qatar.

In the third article of Countdown to ISO 20022 series, Euromoney talks with key market participants about implementation challenges and opportunities corporates are facing in adopting the new payment standard.

HashKey’s rise from scrappy startup to a leading digital asset platform underscores a critical shift: banks are no longer bystanders. Through partnerships with Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and others, the exchange is pioneering a blueprint for bridging traditional finance with the blockchain era – redefining risk, innovation and trust in the process.

This is a guest article by Gene Ludwig, founder of Ludwig Advisors.

South Africa’s biggest market, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange has seen a 41% jump in average daily volume year to date, along with an uptick in new listings and multiple new product launches. Director of capital markets Valdene Reddy tells Euromoney the story behind the surge – and how after a decade of sleepiness, South Africa’s markets could finally be waking up.

In the second article of Countdown to ISO 20022 series, Euromoney talks to leading vendors to explore how banks are navigating the implementation process, the strategies adopted by industry leaders to harness newly available data and the steps being taken to equip staff with the tools to maximise its potential.