The UAE was already a fintech pioneer but Covid turned it into a leader. Banks and government agencies are furiously rolling out blockchain-backed services that do everything from seamless KYC checks to detecting fraud in supply chain financing.

In just a few days, Deliveroo’s IPO went from having a book that was oversubscribed at the top of the price range to pricing at the bottom and then collapsing in the aftermarket. What went wrong and does it mean anything for other London listing candidates?

The storms buffeting Credit Suisse represent big trouble for the Swiss bank. Its new chairman may install a new CEO and set a new strategic course, but with big European banks gearing up for consolidation, Credit Suisse just put itself on the block.

With Deutsche Bank apparently turning its fortunes around globally, expectations are high for Asia to deliver growth at the fastest rate of all its operations. Asia CEO Alex von zur Mühlen tells Euromoney he wants to use the bank’s footprint and diversity of revenues to get the job done.

As US Spac deals start to slow after an extraordinary first quarter, any new growth must come from outside the US

The EU will soon have to start funding a €750 billion recovery programme as rates rise and bond markets sell off. Short-dated EU-bills must carry more of the borrowing burden. That requires auctions and a new system of primary dealers.

Ever since the launch of Vision 2030, housing has been a key priority for Saudi Arabia. Along with the home building has come a vibrant mortgage market, the formation of a secondary liquidity provider and the building blocks that will lead to a new securitized asset class in global markets.

Biodiversity loss now competes with climate change as the principal challenge for sustainable finance. What does it actually mean for banks and asset managers and what can the private sector do to restore the balance of nature?

António Horta-Osório makes no apology for the unbridled optimism that has defined his 10 years running Lloyds Banking Group. Critics say he leaves it over-exposed to Brexit and dwindling interest margins. But, as he prepares to move to Switzerland to become chairman of Credit Suisse, Horta-Osório tells Euromoney that Lloyds’ greatest days could still be ahead of it.

Siebert Williams Shank is a top-10 lead manager for municipal issuers. Chief executive Suzanne Shank explains how a merger and building capabilities in commercial paper, share buybacks, corporate bonds, ECM and Spacs show the firm’s determination to keep growing.

The Indonesian Investment Authority is the world’s newest sovereign wealth fund. Its chief executive and the chair of its supervisory board, who is also the minister of finance, explain why the fund will do more than just raise money – and why the ghost of 1MDB is never far away.

Outwardly different, Singapore and Dubai have transformed themselves into international wealth management hubs, overseen by clear-minded regulators. They are now starting to compete for business with Europe’s far older private wealth centres.

In buying out its Exane equities joint venture partner, BNP Paribas reckons it can make a success of a business where few European peers have thrived. It also hopes to see a halo effect on underperforming franchises like ECM.

Black-owned broker-dealers have largely been excluded from the mainstream of corporate debt and equity capital raising. The bulge-bracket banks are now working to correct this, inviting firms owned and staffed by racial minorities, women and veterans to lead their own deals and showcase their capabilities to corporate clients.

After a lifetime in Vienna, Peter Bosek has moved 1,600 kilometres north to head up Blackstone’s banking operation in the Baltics. He talks to Euromoney about life in Tallinn, how to take advantage of millennials’ new-found enthusiasm for investment and what banks can learn from Netflix.

Recent reports by UBS and consultancy Bain set out to explain who China’s high net-worth individuals are, what kind of private banking services they want and how local and global lenders can best serve them.

Zafer Sönmez was well underway with a long-term plan to model Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund on Singapore’s Temasek and Malaysia’s Khazanah – his former employer – when he was unexpectedly removed from his role in March. Before going, he gave Euromoney a detailed interview on the challenges involved in building a wealth fund in a country that is not blessed with oil wealth, plentiful foreign exchange reserves or even budget surpluses. Those challenges will remain after his departure.

Whether doing a branch network tour or complying with regulation, Bank of Saint Helena boss Josephine George has a job that is like few other bankers’ anywhere.

The country’s banks have become accustomed to the disruption caused by the new challengers, but XP Bank could take this to a whole new level.

Jean Pierre Mustier has spoken candidly with Euromoney throughout his five years of running UniCredit. Here is the inside story of how the first foreign chief executive of Italy’s international banking champion came close to continental leadership but left in acrimony – after clashing with the country’s financial establishment and with chairman-elect Pier Carlo Padoan.

The link between share ownership and voting rights has been weakening for a long time. With dual-class share structures more popular than ever, is the struggle to resist their rise now over?

Given its reputation, it’s not surprising that Argentina’s bonds are pricing in a high chance of default in coming years. It’s a little harder to understand why the country’s creditors are enabling this.

The dinosaurs of the banking world have recognised the threat from crypto. While there is no simple choice yet for fast and cheap cross-border payments, near instant domestic payments are the new reality.

More companies are preparing to accept payment in crypto as the number of customers with digital wallets swells. But a confusing proliferation of payment methods means that innovation has made collecting payments harder, not easier.

Banque du Caire was on the cusp of completing a $500 million listing in London and Cairo last year when Covid hit. Its chairman Tarek Fayed meets Euromoney to talk about investing in people and digital – and why he still wants to complete a slimmed-down stock sale when conditions allow.

The chief executive of a leading mid-market London broker reckons there are more funding opportunities than ever for small and medium-sized UK firms, in spite of the pandemic. But she still wants changes to London’s listing rules.

Mid-market specialist DC Advisory has come a long way since its days as a unit of Close Brothers. UK chief executive Richard Madden reckons its acquisition by Daiwa and subsequent build-out of a more coherent international franchise has stood it in good stead.

Laos has twice postponed a bond that it badly needs to issue. A small country with few financing options, hit by Covid, downgraded and in debt to China – its problems are not unique.

UBS’s wealth management team had another stellar year despite the Covid crisis – and once again the Swiss lender takes the top spot in Euromoney’s private banking survey.

Once a branch line of the banking industry, private banking and wealth management is now a driver in its own right. It offers a powerful way to grow income, valuations and returns. But the pressure is on as banks need to scale up or sell out.