Six months ago, Jes Staley took on a job that many of his peers said they did not envy. His task: to turn Barclays’ business performance around and create a clear strategic vision for a bank that had not adapted to a new regulatory and market environment. Work remains to be done, not least in agreeing a ring-fenced structure and improving returns at the investment bank. But the mood at Barclays appears to be brightening.

Barclays CEO Jes Staley has moved quickly to fill the top positions of his management team, with one big exception.

Naci Agbal spent most of his career as a technocrat at the Turkish ministry of finance. Euromoney spoke to Agbal about his new role as finance minister when the world around him seems to be falling apart.

Tighter funding in the emerging markets is beginning to affect even the largest multinationals. Banks are being forced to think on their feet to develop workable products to meet the new demands. Is distributor finance the answer?

Negative interest rates turn conventional lending dynamics on their head and, bankers say, threaten the liquidity, risk and maturity transformation that lie at the heart of credit intermediation. In other words, they put the entire ethos of traditional banking in peril. Have central bankers misunderstood how the credit transmission channel works in their desperate attempts to stave off deflation?

Mohamed Mansour’s decision to build his own business to manage his family’s wealth and staff it with seasoned investment bankers was dismissed by some. But six years after its formation, the billionaire’s brainstorm – a hybrid of family office, private equity firm and investment bank – is being praised and even emulated.

In the great debate on banking union, the smaller markets of emerging Europe are often overlooked. Yet, with banking sectors dominated by eurozone groups, they are uniquely vulnerable to changing regulatory regimes.

News of the ECB’s corporate-sector purchasing programme shocked the market in March and has already prompted a stampede for paper among desperate investors before the central bank has purchased a single bond. Bankers and investors are already complaining that the programme will not have its desired effect.

As depressed oil prices continue to hit Saudi Arabia’s banks hard, the Kingdom’s plan for radical economic change is being seized upon as cause for optimism.

Petrobras opens way for strong Brazilian pipeline; Argentina sovereign praised for helping deal flow.

Mila just the start, says Peru’s finance minster; pan-Andean market liquidity coming.

Political risk no longer driving equity performance; privatizations on investors radar.

Results Index

View results of the Euromoney FX Survey 2016 here.

Citi retains top ranking while Deutsche plummets; JPMorgan and UBS rise; top five market share at all-time low; non-bank FX providers make an impact on rankings.

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Jefferies deal scuppered by loan date changes; Laplanche, Mack investors in Cirrix fund.