North America

The wild markets of March 2020 revealed the capacity for severe dysfunction in what should be the soundest market of all – US treasury bonds. Can any market be expected to cope with such conditions without extraordinary help?

When the panic of March 2020 hit, did corporate debt fare better than Treasuries?

The bubbles in crypto and small-caps look obvious, but most markets are over-inflated and it is a fantasy that banks are immune to the risks.

Goldman’s chief executive David Solomon isn’t impressed by Spac deals from Credit Suisse and Citigroup.

The US president’s prompt action in rejoining the Paris Agreement has given encouragement to environmentalists at home and abroad. What should be next on his green hit list?

An abundance of low-cost finance and soaring stock market valuations are driving M&A towards record levels. But as M&A fever spreads, so riskier deals based on more dubious logic are appearing.

SoFi had plenty of options, so its choice of a Spac validates that structure for listing and raising capital. Can it now challenge the biggest US banks?

Gary Gensler could start his tenure running the Securities and Exchange Commission with a dramatic flourish by taking steps to burst the bubble in special purpose acquisition companies.

More Asian entrepreneurs are going to New York to raise money for Spac listings. Should Singapore’s SGX seek to intercept these listings?

The latest move by an asset class that just can’t keep out of the news is less surprising than it might appear.

In creating a single wealth management platform, called Citi Global Wealth, the US bank is recognizing its shortcomings and planning for the future.

It’s a new year, but Spacs are still facing the same old debates – with a few new twists.

A ban by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on banks denying services to whole sectors could hit their corporate responsibility efforts

In publicly breaking with Trump, banks and corporates are set to make scrutiny of their choices more intense, not less. This is a good thing.

The broker-dealer posted stellar investment banking and markets numbers for 2020 – and reckons this is just the start.

Agreement on the long-awaited US coronavirus relief bill has created further downward pressure on the dollar at the start of a year in which analysts expect economic headwinds to devalue the greenback.

A strong year means chief executive Bruce Van Saun is in the enviable position of having options.

Litigation funding has surged in recent years. The asset class is catnip to yield-hungry investors, with funders expanding from their roots in Australia and the UK to tap new markets from Germany to Brazil and the US.

As government debt burdens keep rising to fight the virus, so do the chances of sudden sell-offs that could suck all markets into a vicious downward cycle.

The investment bank profited in markets and capital raising, as acquisitions set it up for the future

A history of patient investment meant Royal Bank of Canada was well-placed to navigate a turbulent year.

A drastic management overhaul will please some, but chief executive Charles Scharf still has much to do – especially after Covid-19.

The US firm is changing in subtle ways that are proving to be productive.

Its cautious approach means the bank underperforms in some areas, but its management prefers it that way.

The ICG managed price and counterparty credit risk well, but regulators see control deficiencies across the bank that they demand be addressed.

Banner year for CIB helps pay for big provisions, while bank sticks to strategy of investing for growth.

Selling its US bank to PNC fixes BBVA’s capital problem and allows it to consolidate in Spain. Arch-rival Santander’s similar troubles may be harder to solve.

The chief executive of PNC Financial Services is making good on his plan to deploy the proceeds from this year’s sale of its stake in BlackRock in support of its national strategy.

Fear of Chinese advances with programmable money and Facebook’s Libra are pushing central banks to digital currencies, which may transform financial markets.

Corporates borrowed their way through the crisis of 2020. What might happen next? Seven months after the first lockdowns began in Europe and the US, is coronavirus now priced into debt markets?