Banks and their sovereigns are joined at the hip. It’s a toxic embrace.

The Arab World is entering a period of financial and political change. Banks must face up to the new realities.

After stock collapses, bank talks up asset quality; Says profit warning reflects tougher outlook

Audit shows 20% improvement

Fundraising costs at record lows; Flight to safety aids IG corporates

The old adage ‘sell in May and go away’ usually advises investors to return in September. But debt investors in the US might want to hang back until December this year.

Action needed to prevent bank default; Local debt maturity mismatch to blame

Claims that BTG Pactual’s proposed link-up with Cerfin will propel the Brazilian bank into global prominence are exaggerated.

Middle-class incomes to be hit by social tax; New property tax to affect 80% of Russians

Hong Kong, London, Mongolia exchanges involved; Korea, Japan angry over contract exclusion

Retail investors dominate; Institutionals will be back

Governing party’s popularity hits all-time low; Budget deficit rises, corporate revenues fall

Undermining of independence of regulators will deter foreign investment.

Inflation at 16-year high; Wealth gap widens

Credit Suisse trims in investment banking; Africa offices relocate to Johannesburg

Cost of funding lower than domestic deals; Attractive yield pick-up for investors

In early August a syndicate of four German banks – Eurohypo, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba), Berlin Hyp and Goldman Sachs-owned Archon Capital Bank – completed the sale of a real estate whole-loan portfolio with a face value of €370 million to private equity buyer Colony Capital. This is the firm’s fourth NPL portfolio transaction in Germany since 2009 but is unusual in that the loans were all sold together as a package. The buyer was initially approached by one of the banks but was reluctant to consider a partial purchase. This bank subsequently negotiated with the others to sell the entire portfolio in one transaction. "It is rare to find a transaction like this one as usually one or two members of a syndicate are reluctant to sell," Dilip Awtani, managing director and head of European debt strategies at Los Angeles-based Colony Capital, tells Euromoney. "Buying a piece of a syndication is less attractive to us as we would not have control of the investment and would end up in long debates about how to exit." Awtani reckons this is the first time such a trade has been completed in Europe.

IIF emerges as key player in Europe’s sovereign debt crises; Veteran debt negotiator says lessons must be learnt quickly

It would be good news for Europe if a powerful and independent IMF were to take a more prominent role in its sovereign crisis.

Stress tests data make grim reading; Transparency still lags US

Domestic banks dominate distribution at national level. But competition across Europe, both regionally and nationally, is heating up in the manufacturing of products for retail clients. Kim Hunter reports on the findings of a new, exclusive survey.

Before the US sovereign downgrade by sent the risk-on trade into a decline, commercial real estate had made big progress in cleaning up its act. Valuations are up, inventory is coming to market and new sources of funding are flowing. But will stalling economic growth knock the market off course? Joti Mangat reports.