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Stephan Theissing is the treasurer of Allianz as well as its head of corporate finance. He’s the man that investment bankers, looking for a share of the global financial group’s substantial capital markets activity, need to impress. Peter Koh finds out what they have to do to win his favour.

The bond market might have underestimated the troubled issuer’s ability to realize investment-grade ambitions.

After losing out to its nemesis UBS in last year’s poll, Credit Suisse has reclaimed its title as best private bank in Switzerland. The bank attributes its success to the completion of a two-year root and branch reform of its core advisory process. “We started with in-house research that simply asked our advisors how they would define the Credit Suisse advisory process,” says Arthur Vayloyan, head of private banking in Switzerland at Credit Suisse. “What we found, which is probably what you would find in a lot of companies, was that when you ask 10 different people you get 10 different answers. This was a strong indication that we had to become much more rigorous about our advisory process. ‘We’ meant all of us, starting at the top; because it’s important for us to set an example and to be able to be a correcting factor, if necessary. Vayloyan: a more rigorous approach“Our advice strategy was a real step forward. At first we had internal resistance. It was such a basic thing that it raised a lot of eyebrows. People were asking: ‘We’ve been doing this very well for 150 years so why do we need to change?’ But the market changes every day so we needed to change too. Now if you ask our bankers: ‘What is the Credit Suisse advisory process?’ you get a much more coherent answer. It is key that our clients are all treated by the same standards but focussing on their individual needs when they first come to the bank."

Euromoney asked senior executives at the world’s leading private banks to describe up to three key attributes for successful wealth management.

Private banks are enjoying a period of growth as financial markets improve and global wealth increases. Long-term success will lie in offering a broader range of products linked to investment banking, while ensuring the high levels of service that clients now demand. Euromoney reports on the drivers of success in its annual survey.

In a year characterized by innovation in Islamic finance, Deutsche Bank stands out. A new structure based on the wa’s contract has allowed the bank to introduce novel shariah-compliant asset classes and pay-offs and to make possible most derivatives, such as interest rate swaps, currency swaps and options.

Republic’s next challenge is to revamp its domestic debt portfolio.

Many of the most attractive banking assets in emerging Europe have already been bought. Acquirers must look further east for their next target. But investment bankers are already thinking of the next big play – a global bank trying to buy a presence across the region. Sudip Roy reports.

Search the results Northern Trust focuses entirely on looking after client assets and will not be distracted by ventures into other banking sectors

Search the results Chinatrust has avoided head-on competition with its big rivals, carving an onshore niche and offering genuine open architecture

Last month’s cover story received a lot of feedback. It seems sell side is in a state of flux and running scared of algorithmic trading.

The Czech Republic’s PPF Group, which owns Home Credit and insurer Ceska Pojistovna, has managed to achieve top three positions in all of its countries of operation and with limited need for international financing. Now, the previously inwardly focused group has finally begun to let outsiders in. Kathryn Wells reports.