From communism to unbridled capitalism, from command economy to chaos to convergence, Euromoney’s coverage provides a unique insight into an unparalleled half-century in emerging Europe.

András Simor became chief executive of Creditanstalt Securities in Budapest in 1989. He was chairman of CA-IB from 1997 to 1998 and head of Deloitte Hungary from 2003 until being appointed governor of the Hungarian central bank in 2007. Since October 2014, he has served as CFO at the EBRD. He will retire from the bank in May this year.

Petr Aven served as minister of foreign economic relations for the Russian Federation between 1991 and 1992. He was president of Alfa-Bank Russia from 1994 to 2011 and is currently chairman of the board, a position he also holds at ABH Holdings, Alfa Group’s financial holding company.

Herbert Stepic joined Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich (RZB) in 1973. In 1978, he took over the group’s international banking division and from 1986 led its expansion into emerging Europe. He stepped down as chief executive of RZB’s legal successor Raiffeisen Bank International in 2013.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

Ivan Miklos was minister of privatization for Czechoslovakia from 1991 to 1992. He was minister of economy of Slovakia between 1998 and 2002 and minister of finance 2002 to 2006 and 2010 to 2012. Since 2016 he has served as adviser to the Ukrainian government.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

Viktor Gerashchenko served as chairman of the Gosbank from 1989 to December 1991 and head of the central bank of Russia from 1992 to 1994 and 1998 to 2002. He was chairman of International Bank of Moscow from 1996 to 1998 and Russia’s IMF representative 1998 to 2000. He was elected to the State Duma in 2003.

Grigory Marchenko served two terms as governor of Kazakhstan’s central bank – from October 1999 to January 2004 and from January 2009 to October 2013. He was chairman of the board of Halyk Bank from 2005 to 2009. He retired in 2013 and divides his time between Barcelona, Baku and Almaty.

Andreas Treichl started his banking career in 1977 at Chase Manhattan. From 1986 to 1993, he headed the US bank’s Austrian operation, before moving to Credit Lyonnais in 1993. He became chairman of the board of Erste Bank in 1997 and chief executive of Erste Group in 2008.

Since 2008, rising local players have gained the upper hand over risk-averse global investment banks in emerging Europe as the flow of larger deals has declined, but that could change as regional firms start to flex their muscles on the global stage and China looms large.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May CEE focus.

The absence of a regulatory imperative has not deterred FX traders from increasing their use of transaction cost analysis tools, in turn increasing the pressure on brokers at a time when margins are already thin.

OakNorth shows that SME lending need not be unduly risky and can be highly profitable, and other new banks are following its example.

Greater consideration has to be given to financing conservation. That includes questioning the financing of firms that produce pesticides and herbicides.

While Commerzbank might yet be an attractive partner in European consolidation, Deutsche is caught in a horrible cycle of continuing to cut costs to offset declining revenues.

Payments via smartphone or contactless credit card are indisputably convenient, but what is the price of going cashless? And what role does cold hard cash have in modern society?

European bank mergers, especially in France and Germany, will stand or fall on the strength of staff relations.

Debate around the UniCredit-Commerzbank merger will centre on its impact on European banks’ share prices as Eurosceptic populism makes cost cutting more difficult.

The early pages of Euromoney often saw odd storms blow up, apparently out of nowhere – and one of the oddest was the short but sharp squall over Eurocommercial paper (ECP).

Big pools of private capital, led by sovereign wealth funds, private equity sponsors and family offices, now dominate capital formation in the key growth industry sectors of technology and biotech and the expanding markets of Asia. New tech will let networks of private investors connect and exchange it more easily.

Capital markets bankers have spent much of the last five decades dreaming up products to help clients and themselves make money, but is process, which has largely taken a back seat, now becoming the battleground?