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The real test of Goldman Sachs’s new model will come in a prolonged downturn.

Ever since Kuwait amended its banking legislation in early 2004 to license foreign banks, outside players have continued to show confidence in a high-potential market.

The recent sale of the first Islamic compliant securitization originated in the US is likely to open up a new source for the sukuk market, bankers believe.

Less liquidity in equity markets suggests that investment strategies harnessing volatility are appropriate.

Too few fund managers are paid to make asset allocation bets. That creates opportunities for those that do.

As stock exchange consolidation catches on around the world, it’s sobering to note the lessons of the Australian experience.

Finding suitable talent to staff the growing private banking markets in Asia has always been a challenge. But recently the problem has become so acute that some industry observers have discerned a new hiring trend among banks.

Bradford & Bingley’s treasurer, Peter Green, and head of capital markets and securitization, Mark Winter, want to regain ownership from investment banks of their institution’s dialogue with investors. They are following a simple strategy of diversifying the investor base. Allied to a remarkable level of transparency during the printing of new issues, this is already reaping its rewards. Alex Chambers reports.

Argentina’s central bank president reckons that it will take at least another two or three years before his country’s economic variables normalize. Martin Redrado says that although Argentina has made progress since the 2001/02 financial crisis, more patience is needed before it can achieve sustainable growth.

Investors might be keen to get out of Latin American assets right now, but that doesn’t mean they’ve fallen completely out of love with Brazilian debt. The Brazilian government tried to take advantage of the turbulent markets by announcing a $4 billion tender offer in June; the offer was a spectacular failure, attracting just $1.2 billion in bids.

Alan García’s victory over Ollanta Humala in Peru’s presidential elections left Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez seething. Peruvians rejected the populist Humala, who sought to distance himself from Chávez’s anti-American rhetoric despite having received the Venezuelan leader’s uninvited backing. Chávez threw insults at García, calling him “a thief, a demagogue, a liar”. García reiterated his support for democracy and free trade, shooting back a barb of his own: “The Chávez phenomenon is militarism with a lot of money.” It is a stunning metamorphosis for the former socialist president whose first term in the 1980s ended in hyperinflation and a terror campaign by Shining Path. Nevertheless, Lima’s financial community remains worried by García’s plans to renegotiate Peru’s free trade agreement with the US.

Foreign institutions considering an M&A foray into the financial services sector in Asia might want to pick up a copy of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ recent report on the matter before doing so.