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It might have been the most turbulent month in memory for global stock markets but equity capital raisings did not grind to a halt. In fact, September has seen a spate of equity raisings from banks despite, or rather because of, the fact that they are at the centre of the market’s turbulence.

The growth in Islamic finance has slowed with the deepening credit crunch but the Saudi Binladin Group has raised the first sukuk for the world’s most holy boom town: Mecca.

When a bank is huge in a particular market, the cost can sometimes be a lack of agility. Success can breed complacency, and a market-leading position might lead to a certain absence of ingenuity and a danger of getting set in one’s ways. Citi, this year’s – and last year’s – overall Euromoney Cash management poll winner, runs no risk of hubris despite its vast scale and huge commercial success.

The failure of the US House of Representatives to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 at its first reading on September 29 came despite the entreaties of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association to its members to call their congressmen before noon that day to explain to them why the legislation must pass.

On September 29 the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced its most severe one-day decline in history. Of the S&P index’s 500 names, just one enjoyed a share price rise:

"I remember going into the Fed for meetings on the LTCM rescue plan. At one end of the table there was Jimmy Cayne, at the other Dick Fuld. Now the table is a lot smaller and the faces are not so familiar"

Have the big Japanese banks been over-cautious about buying stakes in troubled western peers?

Freddie Mac is seeking to reassure holders of its debt that the preferred stock purchase agreement announced by US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson will protect them, "regardless of who wins the elections".

It will have 10 million customers, which is roughly half of Australia’s population. Crucially, it will have Westpac’s AA rating, rather than St George’s A. At the time of the merger announcement, it was envisaged as having a combined market capitalization of A$66 billion ($477 billion), although an improvement in the St George share price since then had increased that figure at the time of writing.

Data provider Markit announced at the end of September that it was planning to offer free access to its daily CDS pricing data to non-clients for a limited time. It also announced that buy-side accounts that wanted to confirm index trades would be given free access to its RED (reference entity database) system – again for a limited time. This largesse follows Markit’s decision earlier this year to offer free access to RED for buy-siders that only trade lightly in the CDS market. The moves will be welcomed by the smaller, second-tier institutions involved in the CDS market that have struggled to get access to information following the credit events at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and WaMu.

The relaunch of FX futures by Ice finally provides the CME with some proper competition.

Emerging markets have driven global growth in recent years and are expected to continue to outpace the developed world as global growth slows.