Our research for this 50th anniversary edition for Asia took us all over the region, but we didn’t expect it to take us to an Indonesian version of carpool karaoke.

Andrey Kostin is famously fond of a provocative joke.

May 2019

May 2019

Africa has long had a fraught relationship with the capital markets – can the continent put that difficult history behind it and, crucially, fund the next stage of its development?

For 50 years, Euromoney has followed the vicissitudes of a continent that has moved into and out of favour with international banks and grappled with developing its own capital market culture.

From digital banking to the retreat of international firms, the future of African finance will be determined within its own borders. That gives the region a much better chance of success.

Africa has the largest number of refugees of any continent – in Uganda, many of them are economically active, while others are excluded from accessing basic banking products. Euromoney finds out how integrating refugees into the formal financial system could benefit the country.

The continent is trying to force financial inclusion at a time when international banks are leaving. It is a hotbed of innovation but still lacks essential infrastructure. So how should we look at banking in a modern Africa?

Euromoney speaks to 10 key figures who shaped the development of banking and finance in emerging Europe.

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.

Well-capitalized, liquid and digitally sophisticated, banks in emerging Europe today are far from the clunking incumbents and fly-by-nights of the post-socialist era. A fragmented, diverse and politically volatile region is a challenge for smaller banks – is a new wave of consolidation on the way?

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

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.

Asia’s ability to adapt has made it the current engine of world growth. The next decades could see it become the leader in global banking.

This is the region where fintech disruption has been most potent. Underbanked and with large populations comfortable with smartphones, Asia has been fertile ground for technology-enabled payments providers with a knack for crunching big data.

As Asia’s share of world GDP and global capital increases, the trend among Asia-based banks is for regional rather than global expansion. The region’s leading chief executives explain their approach to growth.

International IBs pride themselves on the diversity of their business in Asia Pacific, but a bank without a decent China business in this region is nowhere. It is the engine of both regional and global growth.

The alphabet soup of multilaterals in the region has become hard to understand during the past decade, so Euromoney tries to read between the acronyms to assess what impact they will make.

In a rare interview, chief executive Lim Chow Kiat explains the investment discipline that underpins one of the world’s most influential and sophisticated funds – and his fears over the impact of a polarized political world on global investment.

The Asian financial crisis of 1997/98 was the region’s most important event during Euromoney’s 50 years of coverage – those who experienced it share their recollections and what they learned.

Five decades of Asia coverage have seen the rise and fall of Japan, the opening of China, the turmoil of the Asian financial crisis and the rocketing recovery from it, the emergence of local capital markets, and at least seven new dawns at Nomura. Here are some of the highlights from 1969 to the present day.

Over the last 12 months, the New Development Bank has gone from concept to fully fledged lender. It says it wants to be differentiated by its nimbleness and focus on sustainability. Where does it fit in a changing multilateral landscape?

Citigroup president Jamie Forese and his Morgan Stanley counterpart, Colm Kelleher, are bowing out after contrasting quarters for their investment banks.

Bank of America is reportedly excited about the potential of a tool it calls the Predictive Intelligence Analytics Machine, or Priam.

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.

Ten years on from the crisis, Morgan Stanley was already a different animal, with a shift to half its revenues generated from wealth management – what will it look like in another 10 years? Maybe more like Bank of America or JPMorgan…

The phony war has been long, but the first real battle has now begun in Brazil’s fintech space.

China has been having a hard time convincing the world of its noble intentions for the Belt and Road Initiative. So, for the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, it has enlisted an unlikely ally: an animated durian fruit called Little Thai.