This year was like no other in Latin American banking – and the huge leap forward in digital adoption throughout the region caused by the pandemic is here to stay.

As Covid cases surge, the widespread hope that economic growth will contain defaults and banks will emerge unscathed looks optimistic.

That distant sound is the warning bell as bond investors’ desperate search for yield leads them down ever-risker paths.

A reported $1 billion score from distressed debt trading could encourage banks to look for risky ways to boost earnings.

A new group at the top of the investment bank’s coverage effort is another indication of where its priorities now lie.

As football fans enjoy an action-packed European Championship, JPMorgan is advancing its project to dominate global sport financing.

What worries the wealthy most? It is a question that provides answers the rest of us would be wise to heed.

The $15 billion merger that created Saudi National Bank is tipped to kick-start a cycle of consolidation in the Kingdom’s banking sector.

Buying robo-adviser Nutmeg is a bold and telling first step for the US bank’s new digital banking venture in the UK.

Scandinavia’s biggest bank is at last outperforming European banks in the way that smaller Nordic lenders did in the 2010s. The jury is out on whether or not this can continue when its more nationally focused Nordic peers regain momentum.

JPMorgan’s new chief financial officer, Jeremy Barnum, is an unusual choice for a role that has become a springboard for greater things.

The bond market’s hottest structure has come under fire from a leading ESG investor, with borrowers accused of gaming the system to take advantage of demand for sustainable products.

Founder and former chief executive Guilherme Benchimol was keen to stress the mould-breaking attributes of his chosen successor as he passed the reins of XP Inc to Thiago Maffra in May.

US banking chiefs were reminded that their slow move towards socially aware finance brings new risks as they testified to Congress in May.

African banks have enviable growth prospects, but fintech and regulation are forcing them to look beyond their core businesses.

Beijing’s push to rein in its fintech champions, including Ant and Tencent, shows no sign of abating. It fears these big corporations and is busy handing out record fines – yet it would be wise not to go too far and undermine all the good things they do.

The CEOs of JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley will be tough acts to follow, so it is well that they are managing the careers of candidates to succeed them now.

Investors in a faith-based asset look forward to higher highs and higher lows, even as regulators crack down once more.

Merger shows Indonesia e-commerce coming of age, but can the financial services assets be combined?

With Greensill and Archegos, António Horta-Osório has more on his plate than a medieval King. But Credit Suisse’s new chair could do something that would placate doubters and please investors: pivot firmly to Asia.

Employees in the wealth management and investment banking businesses will be sizing up the risks to their own future financial wellbeing of staying with the firm.

In recent years, Brazil has endured famine, flood and pestilence. What’s next?

The Japanese bank has spent big money to hire a wealth management team, but spiralling costs and a lack of name recognition in key markets leave many asking: how realistic are its ambitions?

2020 was a breakout year for China’s financial and capital markets. The next 12 months could be just as busy, as regulators rush to approve a host of licences lodged by global financial institutions.

The US investment bank sidesteps an avoidable reputational own goal as a planned football European Super League collapses.

The maverick activist is blazing a trail by targeting a big southern European bank – and is warning against the risks of a deal between UniCredit and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

By listing on Nasdaq, Coinbase may undermine itself, giving investors an easy way to bet on bitcoin without paying its own high fees.

Unlisted banks, especially cooperatives, face less pressure to shrink as a result of low returns. They are gaining market share – but falling behind in digitalization.

Francesco de Ferrari gave up a plum private banking job at Credit Suisse to take over troubled AMP. It was always a tough ask. Personnel mis-steps did not help, but in the end there was not going to be much of a business left for him to run.

With monetary union off the table, a national break-up could make Brexit seem like a skirmish.