The trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng over the 1MDB scandal has been filled with so much tawdry and tantalizing detail that it can be easy to overlook some of the less sensational, but nevertheless remarkable, material.

Public blockchains have been shown to allow near immediate settlement of new issues. Why aren’t the primary markets embracing them?

The ‘Subject matter expert for fine art lending’ has the kind of job everyone wants: appraising art and helping the wealthy borrow against a private collection. But he tells Euromoney that it involves a great deal of time observing, listening and figuring out what the client wants.

Until recently, poor nations joined the Belt and Road Initiative to secure access to funds flowing to the vast infrastructure project. Then the funds started to dry up. Does this presage a full-scale financial pull-back from the world by China?

Toshiba has unveiled a new restructuring format, but its roster of activist shareholders would much prefer the business be taken private.

SoftBank’s likely choice of the US to list Arm might say something about UK equity investor culture, but using it as evidence that London reform efforts are failing is a step too far.

JPMorgan is named the world’s best wealth manager in Euromoney’s latest private banking and wealth management survey. It is testament to the US bank’s global strength in serving the wealthiest families, along with its drive to constantly transform itself and boost diversity as it hires the most talented relationship managers in core markets.

The next decade will be one of exceptional value creation in the birthplace of private banking. European entrepreneurs are handing the reins of mid-sized Mittelstand firms to the next generation, while others sell out to global investors and venture capital firms.

February 2022

Crossed wires on an analyst call had many scratching their heads.

Facebook never recovered from the regulatory hostility that first greeted Libra. It is now selling what is left of Diem while building the very metaverses that might make its stablecoin useful.

Share buybacks are suddenly commonplace in European banking, as supervisors are more wary about touching dividends – and because banks lack better use for their new capital surpluses.

February 2022

Calling time on the virtual meeting room

What is the point of hoarding cash when not even the local convenience store takes it anymore?  

The first month of 2022 has seen not so much a mean reversion as a collapse in investment banking revenues. Investors must hope this won’t continue.

The rationale behind a bank buyback can be different in emerging versus developed markets.

The chance to acquire Citi’s Mexican business could attract some unexpected bidders.

Wage inflation leads to substantial cost increases at major Wall Street banks.

The trend continues for ever more dramatic accusations in US legal filings.

Last year, social was top of the ESG agenda. Today, it barely merits a mention.

Falls in bond and equity prices that followed the Fed’s hawkish pivot may just be the start, with the key test still to come in new issue markets.

Policymakers around the world are rushing to protect retail investors from buying products that are less sustainable than they believe them to be. Why?

Will the bank’s payouts after a phishing scam set a precedent?

Analysts see augmented reality creating new economies worth trillions of dollars in the metaverse, where people are already spending real money on virtual real estate and will want to spend virtual earnings in the real world.

Big numbers don’t always tell a story, but January saw one pop up in three different places. How they connect is intriguing.

Southeast Asia markets enjoyed a record 2021. Can they build on this?

Brought in to help clean up Credit Suisse, the high-profile Portuguese banker has been forced to quit to preserve what is left of its reputation.

What does the future hold for Hong Kong, and by default for its overseers in Beijing? Euromoney’s China editor, stuck in lockdown in a Hong Kong hotel, considers the options.

A year ago, Sber’s stellar profitability looked to be under threat. This year, it has defied the doubters and has just unveiled record net profit for the first nine months of the year.