The formation of First Abu Dhabi Bank, widely viewed as a success, has sparked a series of merger announcements. Will scale make for better performing banks? And could cross-border mergers in the region finally happen?

Santiago Peña helped secure Paraguay’s relentless upward trajectory while minister of finance – now he has switched to the private sector and has the perfect perspective to judge the outlook for the Mercosur countries.

Five years ago it was a niche player specializing in consumer loans for the elderly – today Sovcombank is one of Russia’s largest privately owned banks, with a clutch of new shareholders from China and the Gulf. What lies behind its remarkable rise?

When president Macri’s finance team settled with the bond hold-outs and re-opened Argentina to the capital markets, the good times rolled. But following that emerging markets feast came indigestion. Investment bankers in the country face an uncertain future.

They are used to dealing with a crisis, but they can usually see one coming. Does the shock of the IMF bailout leave local firms vulnerable?

It was always going to be a tough year for debt capital markets in Latin America. A turbulent election calendar in three of its biggest economies and rising US rates had been expected to dampen issuance volumes. But few anticipated the drop-off would be so severe.

Asset management is one of the few opportunities European banks have for growth and good returns, but regulation is challenging the captive market and margins are falling. Can banks build their own versions of the low-cost US fund management firms – or are these few remaining crown jewels heading the same way as their investment banks?

Few firms have seen change quite like CLSA. It is now owned by Citic Securities and incorporates the Hong Kong (and international) arm of the mainland business. As such, it is Citic Securities’ international bridgehead to the world.

Its capital markets are dominated by mainland-backed houses, but don’t think of them as a homogenous group – each firm has its own quirks, strengths and character.