China’s decision to scrap Ant Group’s IPO made headlines around the world. But why did the Party act so late and why is it so concerned about Ant? Euromoney looks at the reasons behind the decision and asks what the future holds for a firm hemmed in by a raft of new rules on everything from online lending to anti-trust and data privacy.

Unbundling hits European research provision as providers grapple with transparency and valuation.

In the second part of Euromoney’s focus on transaction monitoring, we look at the value of the financial intelligence being generated and how it can be shared more effectively.

All governments are desperate for revenue. With Spain joining France and Italy in imposing an FTT, more countries may follow.

Initiatives to collaborate on financial crime in the payments space continue to be hindered by poor data and compliance systems.

Banks in Europe face a bleak choice. They can redouble cost cutting and capture the move to digital. They can also top up capital with AT1s, for which there is still a bid. But as the acute phase of the crisis now approaches and loan losses rise, banks’ fabled capital strength faces a stern test

The AT1 market has grown to almost $200 billion equivalent, with perhaps $20 billion equivalent of net new issuance to come from banks filling P2R buckets with lower-quality capital than CET1.

The transition from Libor is passing key tests as benchmark reform moves into its endgame. In October, the discounting rate for cleared interest rate derivatives was smoothly shifted to Sofr and Isda’s fall-back protocol was finally published. However, the Gordian knot of legacy loan contracts remains.

One intriguing sub-plot of a wild year in bank capital has been the advent of green AT1 and tier-2 deals.

UK regulatory proposals could mean tougher times ahead for mortgage customers, but challenger banks could get a little more competitive.

Chile’s new financial portability law came into effect in September, providing a huge shot in the arm to financial innovation in Latin America’s most stable banking market.

There’s no point attacking banks for filing suspicious activity reports as they are required to, but they must work better together with law enforcement to fight financial crime.

With staff working from home and use of digital signatures not yet ubiquitous, banks need to step up security measures to prevent opportunistic criminals profiting from the disruption caused by coronavirus.

Institutions don’t have to believe in any investment case for cryptocurrencies to garner returns from volatility in a growing, active, inefficient market.

Attorney Mel Georgie Racela runs the Anti-Money Laundering Council Secretariat in the Philippines, one of two agencies tasked with getting to the bottom with the country’s involvement in the Wirecard scandal. He talks to Chris Wright.

The country’s response to the scandal is a chance to show good governance.

Nationalist desperation to get ahead in fintech surely explains some of the spectacular regulatory failure in the Wirecard accounting scandal.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority may struggle to show anything explicitly wrong in the awarding of recent equity mandates.

Accounting standards that make banks provision upfront for all expected loan losses are encouraging exactly what regulators don’t want to happen at this stage of the coronavirus crisis.

Volumes more than doubled in March; before the coronavirus crisis hit, Euromoney spoke to market participants about why portfolio trading will transform bond market liquidity.

For a sector reeling from money laundering scandals, it’s tempting to imagine that technology could be a low-cost way of solving such problems. AI could be a game changer for detecting low-level crime, but corporate-scale laundromats will remain tough to crack.

The transition from Libor must be delayed to avoid pressuring coronavirus-damaged markets.

Proof of the Swedish supervisor’s mettle raises questions about the Danish response to money laundering.

Central banks have told lenders to eat into their buffers, but intense debate remains over recognition of non-performing loans in the push for debt moratoria.

Stand-off in Slovenia highlights politicians’ failure to tackle retail lending boom.

FASB chair grilled by US lawmakers over implementation cost of new accounting rules.

Banks must prove to the increasingly impatient regulators that they have got Libor transition under control, or face costly consequences down the line.

Regulatory technology vendors are relishing the prospect of helping banks minimize FX client onboarding errors, but in a world where legacy systems remain commonplace, regtech is not always an easy sell.

European regulators aren’t done with capital increases, especially for banks with unjustifiably low risk weightings.

The year 2020 is going to be a big one in the world of failed trades.