Tan Sri Teh is the first winner of Euromoney’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Asia. His bank, Public Bank, also won best bank in Malaysia for the eighth time.

The oft-perceived wisdom is that consolidation into the hands of fewer and fewer major players will continue. But the emergence of a new breed of service providers suggests this is simplistic.

Joseph Ackermann has just signed on for another four years at the helm of Deutsche Bank. It’s testament to the success he has had in creating one of the world’s most successful banks. A new book seeks to explain why his achievements are lauded overseas but he is disliked in the country that his bank’s name bears. Will domestic difficulties bring his tenure to a premature end?

High borrowing levels and possible interest rate rises could threaten profitability in the US and Europe, while Asian and Latin American banking systems become increasingly sophisticated, say analysts from Moody’s Investors Service.

When Lebanese climber Maxim Chaya reached the summit of Mount Everest in May, champagne glasses clinked in the executive rooms at Bank Audi. Three years ago, Lebanon’s second-biggest bank decided to take a punt on Chaya (whose brother Nabil heads the capital markets division at the bank) and sponsored him to the tune of $250,000 in his bid to become the first Lebanese to climb the highest point in each of the seven continents (he also trekked to the North and South Poles). Everest was the last stop.

Two years ago structured credit was a cottage industry. Now it’s the sector every major investment bank wants to grow in. Alex Chambers reports on the conflicting dynamics of the market, and how banks are trying to position themselves. And in a brand new poll, Euromoney reveals the leaders in the market.

The idea that Venezuela might issue a bond on Argentina’s behalf poses more questions than answers.

When three industry trade bodies join forces to issue a joint statement in response to regulatory proposals it’s clear that they are taking the matter very seriously.

Recent events surrounding the future ownership of Hong Kong fixed-line carrier PCCW [see Hong Kong: Wrong connections] offer evidence that Asia’s private equity market might be overheating. The zeal with which Texas Pacific Group and Macquarie have pursued an acquisition of the key assets of the group suggests that they might be struggling to find suitable investments in the region.

Users of the EU’s clearing and settlement systems would like to see a firmer hand on the tiller.

If equity investors paid closer attention to what is going on in parts of the bond market they could avoid kneejerk reactions to what is essentially old news.

Market participants need to focus on the relevance of information, and not just information for its own sake.

Would the relatively small capital-raising needs of African sovereigns be best satisfied by joint international issuance or by wider use of their individual domestic markets?

Fix Protocol has issued a white paper on foreign exchange, after a 2005 survey by TowerGroup predicted a sharp increase in its use among market participants. TowerGroup found that 15% of sell-side firms and 25% of the buy side they surveyed were already using Fix version 4.4 for FX trading; this is expected to rise to 40% and 60%, respectively, by 2008.

Hungary’s OTP Bank, the only bank in central and eastern Europe to entertain genuine regional ambitions, is turning its attention to Austria as it eyes up the possible purchase of troubled bank Bawag. “We do not know yet if we are interested,” says OTP chief executive Sandor Csanyi. “But we think that our experience could be very useful.” Austrian trade union federation OeGB is selling the bank after it recorded huge losses following murky deals involving its US partner Refco, which collapsed in October 2005. Refco’s creditors are at present trying to locate the US assets of Bawag.

Goldman Sachs has moved Zubin Irani to a new position in its merged real estate group. The bank merged its real estate advisory business and real estate financing business six months ago to create a one-stop-shop real estate client-focused business. Irani, who is co-heading the group, previously headed Goldman’s Whitehall Funds subsidiary for seven years. The Whitehall business is now being run by Benoît Herault.

The increasing focus on principal finance in Europe was further in evidence in July when UBS hired Andrea Perona from BNP Paribas. Perona will head a new principal finance business at UBS that lost three of its senior securitization team to Bank of America in early 2005. He was previously head of southern European securitization at BNP Paribas.

Inaugural mortgage securitization is sign of a fast-developing market.

Further proof – if any were needed – of Russia’s increasing financial clout on the international capital markets came one balmy Friday evening in July.

Club’s £260 million deal could be joined by securitizations from UK Premiership rivals Liverpool and Man Utd.

Bill Lipschutz was once considered one of the world’s top-five FX traders. Now managing currency hedge fund company Hathersage, he talks to Helen Avery about why FX is catching the eye of institutional investors and how he sees the trend developing.

PCCW is now controlled by Francis Leung. But that’s not the full story.