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?

One of the biggest capital markets stories this year has been the rise of social bonds.

Turkey’s FX strategy might look odd but, despite the damage it is wreaking on the lira, analysts doubt that the country’s economic policies will change.

Covid-19 adds to the urgency of reorientating retail to e-commerce. Combining Openbank with consumer finance is the logical next step in Santander’s cloud-based banking transformation.

Banks in Europe face a bleak choice. They can redouble cost cutting and capture the move to digital. They can also top up capital with AT1s, for which there is still a bid. But as the acute phase of the crisis now approaches and loan losses rise, banks’ fabled capital strength faces a stern test

Italy’s biggest bank is floundering because it is based on a flawed premise.

Within three years a quarter of Europe’s bank branches could be closed – more if the rising M&A wave strengthens. When banks shout about investing in digital for their customers, they want investors to hear they are cutting costs. In the rush to become tech companies could they lose what keeps customers loyal?

It was vital that the first deal in a €850 billion programme went well, but tougher tests lie ahead.

Swift regulatory clearance raises fully fledged new bank’s hopes for smooth path to profit in an under-served market segment.

The outgoing CEO’s surprisingly good final results mean his successor has less room for manoeuvre.

Incoming UniCredit chairman Pier Carlo Padoan could be a useful ally to CEO Jean Pierre Mustier, but the latter may not realise his dreams in Germany and Europe unless the bank plays a greater role in Italy, too.

Tidjane Thiam is no longer running Credit Suisse, but the clever appointment of Christian Meissner to bridge its private banking and investment banking teams, delivering new services to super-wealthy clients, shows his dream lives on.

The BRICS economies, which between them represent 40% of the world population and 32% of its GDP, are a powerful force for the private banking industry as their economic engines drive wealth creation. But they are all distinct markets with their own unique opportunities and challenges.

As European bank consolidation finally gets under way, Euromoney looks at the financial firepower of the region’s top 20 players. Which banks are now best-placed to do the acquiring and which are at risk of being swallowed up? Mid-tier banks in southern Europe look especially vulnerable.

As Spain prepares to digest the €17 billion merger of CaixaBank and Bankia, Andalucían lender Unicaja has revived merger talks with rival Liberbank as it faces a threat to its regional dominance. While its community roots are an advantage, it also needs an answer to the calls for change

UK regulatory proposals could mean tougher times ahead for mortgage customers, but challenger banks could get a little more competitive.

Natixis’ mistakes in equity derivatives and commodities this year repeat a pattern of outsized wholesale-banking losses. In the future, as in asset management, it should focus more on the underlying advantages of parent group BPCE’s retail network.

A specialist calculation agent reckons now is an ideal time to break into a busy region for equity-linked deals.

No golf please, I’m delivering: how the German bank’s new CEO sees himself.

A bank with a profitable core business is a better bet than one designed to lose money.

Manfred Knof starts early next year, after Martin Zielke is ousted by Cerberus. He joins recently arrived chairman Hans-Jörg Vetter.

The chairman of UBS seems determined to force a wave of European banking consolidation. A merger of his firm with Credit Suisse may not be possible, but other deals are likely.

Rushing back to capital distributions won’t solve the sector’s deeper crisis.

Putting together Spain’s two biggest domestic lenders makes sense, because, while both have good management, one side is better skilled at cross-selling.

Bank of Singapore reports positive first year of operations for Luxembourg subsidiary.

The banking-as-a-service provider enjoys a boost as older banks accelerate digital transformation. It also harbours ambitions to become a cross-border clearing bank.

As the second wave of the coronavirus hits, The Hut Group may win from new lockdowns after completing the biggest UK IPO in five years and largest ever for a tech company.

There’s no point attacking banks for filing suspicious activity reports as they are required to, but they must work better together with law enforcement to fight financial crime.

While banks have made progress on integrating environmental considerations into areas such as project finance and corporate lending, investment bankers have so far faced few – if any – sustainability-related restrictions on their activities.

Different sovereign funds have approached Covid in different ways – drawdowns, contrarian investments, flights to safety and backstopping local raisings – but Ireland’s has perhaps been the most clearly defined.