More than six months after the updated directive was implemented, its effects on research provision are becoming clearer. The good news is that buy-side research budgets seem to have stabilized; the bad news is that if you aren’t big, you probably aren’t on the receiving end of them.

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.

Eight banks have gone live with the Voltron initiative, an open platform for documentary trade.

Even its main architects admit that Europe’s banking resolution directive is fundamentally flawed – and they are in a desperate race to fix its failure to deal with funding and liquidity crises before the next bank collapse occurs.

Euribor’s administrator is confident that its reforms to the benchmark will make it eligible to be published and used after the Benchmark Regulation’s transition period ends. But don’t bank on it.

A disruptive new platform aims to slash the cost of capital raising, bringing together conventional institutions with $200 billion earmarked for growth and private companies seeking expansion funding.

Worries are growing that benchmark rate replacements will take longer to create than the time available.

A boutique broker renowned for the accuracy of its currency forecasts has warned that a no-deal Brexit could see the pound fall to parity with the euro by the middle of next year.

Two of the world’s most advanced cryptocurrency markets agree to exchange notes on blockchain regulation.

Isda needs to take action over manufactured defaults.

No one is surprised by the money-laundering revelations from the Baltics.

The UK's financial market regulator finds firms still struggling with suspicious transaction reports, but it could be bolder in its criticism.

As Mifid II beds down, its impact on the global fixed income research industry is already being felt. There are clear signs that investors are less reliant on research and are using fewer providers than before. As they start to cut costs to implement their own research budgets, providers must ensure that they are getting good value for money.

The frequency and severity of UK banks’ IT failures are troubling their customers even if their regulators remain calm.

Progress has been made on possible replacements for Libor as a reference rate for financial instruments. But they don’t all have the market thrilling to the prospect of a Libor-less world.

The market tremors from the FX-fixing scandal and subsequent probe – triggering a flurry of fines, litigation cases and prosecutions – is set to reverberate for years to come. Euromoney investigates the fallout for global banks and possible reforms.

Banks have found it hard to lend to Mexico’s large SME segment, but persistence is beginning to pay off for those with the requisite focus – and skills.

By increasing the size at which a US bank is deemed to be systemically important to $250 billion, the Trump administration has unleashed a wave of merger activity among the country’s regional banks. This is the fervent hope of the investment bankers waiting to do the deals, but the reality might turn out to be rather more complicated than that.

Regional banks in the US are posting record capital markets income, putting them in a strong position to fend off challenges from bigger firms.

Regulatory pressures are beginning to force firms to innovate as tech developments make it ever easier for companies to keep digital records of various transactions – and providers are taking advantage.

The southeast Asian FX market is on fire and it is set to get a further boost thanks to a combination of political and economic turbulence, a regulator committed to facilitating infrastructure investment and increased interest from non-bank market makers.

Recent growth puts Banorte ahead of its 2020 targets; strong cash generation expected to lead to greater 2019 dividends.

Regulatory changes to Brazil’s positive credit bureau open way for fintech start-up; better data predicted to lead to lower cost credit and GDP growth.

August, typically a slow month for capital markets, was a fruitful one for alternative reference rates (ARRs) to Libor.

Industry experts observe that while the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2) represents an opportunity for corporate treasury to take advantage of real-time payment processing, it will take some time for the full benefits to be realised.

The regulation recently adopted by the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) around the provision of contracts for difference (CFDs) and binary options to retail investors has raised a furore among retail traders and brokers.

A fintech headed by veterans of algorithmic trading in equities aims to transform unregulated gold trading as a pure agency broker.

Flow Traders is confident that the approach that has made it the leading player in the European exchange-traded products (ETP) market can be replicated in FX as it looks to cash in on increased interest in non-bank market makers.

Just seven months after the launch of the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), efforts made by many mainstream banks are stopping short of bringing about the ground-breaking changes many had expected.