Critics says IFC's standards lack rigour of World Bank’s 2018 Environmental and Social Framework; Bank accepts it has made many mistakes, caused environmental and social damage in the Amazon.

Many thought the trade war would have derailed the promise by the CSRC to let foreigners fully own their mainland securities operations.

VTB has long lagged state-owned rival Sberbank in terms of profitability, but with sanctions limiting access to capital the pressure is on to close the gap – chairman Andrey Kostin explains why digital transformation and aggressive retail growth hold the key to success for Russia’s second-largest lender.

The bank's group head, global transaction banking says: 'We want to open up the transaction banking landscape.'

The former treasurer at the Chinese multinational technology company says: 'Banks should be concerned.'

Tiny Bhutan has a claim to fame as the first and only country that can claim to be not only carbon neutral but dramatically carbon negative. Conservation is wrapped in with the national ideal of ‘gross national happiness’, a pillar of the country’s constitution and fundamental to national planning.

The Latin American nation has gone all-out to rebuild its natural environment over the last three decades, with great results – now it needs the rest of the world to pay attention.

The Seychelles was the first country to issue a debt-for-nature swap to protect its marine environment; it was also the first to issue a blue bond, raising capital to finance sustainable marine and ocean-related projects. But can it overcome the teething problems and provide a model other island nations can follow?

Using a model of up-front financing for large one-off projects, project finance for permanence may be the mechanism that can help reach the goal of 50% of the planet’s natural areas being protected in perpetuity.

Deforestation – and the cattle farming that largely drives it – has caught the world’s attention. While some environmentalists suggest punitive measures to make Brazil a better steward of the forest, there are already more constructive, private-sector responses to the challenge. Can they scale quickly enough to save the Amazon?

When renewables private equity group Equis Energy was sold to GIP for $5 billion – $3.7 billion of it equity – investors walked away with well over double their initial investment. The founders of Equis made around $800 million. But why was more than $500 million of the proceeds ringfenced into a vehicle called Equis Renewables, in which the underlying investors did not participate, while the general partners got it all? The story of how those assets got there casts a light on the curious inner workings of modern private equity.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean up water supplies, prevent the loss of biodiversity, mitigate fire and flood risk and meet the nutritional requirements of a growing population the world must improve its regenerative and sustainable agricultural practices – new tools and support from the financial services industry are needed to fund that transition.

The Seychelles will need to tackle its drug problem head on if it wants to develop a thriving blue economy and pay back debt raised from the first ever blue bond.

Korea’s first two digital banks have had very different starts: one, kakaobank, is a clear success story; the other, K Bank, badly needs funding but is caught up in a problem around its would-be-biggest shareholder. Korea’s regulator is in it for the long haul and is inviting new digital banks to join them.

International investors remain cautious, despite a strong performance in deal activity this year.

Advocating ESG while investing in one of the world’s largest oil companies is an uneasy truth.

The race is on: not Formula 1 but environmental challenges.

Fintechs, banks and government are working together to build clever new digital services and boost financial inclusion in a country where millions are unbanked. For now, collaboration is the name of the game.

It might not happen, but if the US president were to stop Asian firms listing in the US, it would help a sector that has watched business slip through its fingers.

The country’s risk scores have lagged its central European neighbours since the financial crisis. Is overspending in the mid 2000s entirely to blame, or should the Fidesz government take some responsibility?

Three-quarters of fund managers that responded to a recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey think that Mexico is going to lose its investment grade status.

Road testing the likely economic and financial policies come the October general election.

Applications to operate banks in Saudi Arabia show that consolidation has not shut the door to new entrants.

Saudi Arabia is pressing on with capital markets reform and its planned IPO of Aramco in spite of drone attacks on its oil facilities that briefly spooked markets. Virginia Furness reports from Riyadh.

Singapore’s emergence as a global financial hub is no accident, and has not happened overnight. The key, according to Ravi Menon – the managing director of financial regulator the Monetary Authority of Singapore – is to plan well, act decisively and, above all, listen.

Some uncomfortable conclusions arise from a close look at Euromoney’s country risk data for Asia since 1982. India’s opening has been rewarded with a dismal decline in its score, while the overthrow of local dictators doesn’t appear to do much for economies either.

One country showed the way forward for Latin American sovereigns nearly 35 years ago. Many have tried to follow. Have they succeeded?

Automation and artificial intelligence are transforming the payments industry into one of the most dynamic sectors of transaction banking. But there are still many teething problems in an industry that has been catapulted onto centre stage.

When the Philippines needed a new central bank governor earlier this year, no one expected the president to pick an outsider for the job. During his first months in office, Benjamin Diokno has promised – and started – to deliver measures to spur expansion.

Investors expect a radical transformation in Brazilian financial services in the next five years: this enthusiasm is depressing incumbent stocks while driving strong valuations for start-ups.