Search results for

Issuer: People’s Republic of China Amount: $1 billion and e550 million Types of deal: Eurobonds Date: May 17 2001 Bookrunners: Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley (for dollars) and Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank (euros)

That Goldman Sachs feels it must write to the Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to ask that it consider making banks mark loans to market is telling. It's the clearest signal yet that the pure investment banks are, finally, concerned at the potential which lurks within the large commercial and universal banks.

The woman wags a hectoring finger at the minister. "If a child is unwell," she says, "its mother does not give it an injection of poison." She and a group of trade union colleagues are accusing the minister of doing just that by privatizing the aluminium plant in Chattisgarh state. For 40 minutes they sit in his office and plead with Arun Shourie, minister in charge of privatization, administrative reform and a panjandrum range of critical issues concerning modernization of India's economy, to roll back the privatization of Bharat Aluminium (Balco).

Bacelius Ruru seems an unlikely troubleshooter in the rough and tumble world of Indonesia's financial sector, which is plagued by exceptional levels of corporate debt, continuing accusations of corruption and persistent political instability.

The highly volatile debt capital markets of the past 12 months have provided an extraordinary set of challenges to borrowers, whether they be highly experienced and well-rated issuers or less creditworthy newcomers.

Europe’s newly emerging mass affluent are the latest target – and the latest obsession – for financial services operators. However many players have yet to unveil either a clear strategy or the right products. Indeed some big names have already decided to cut their considerable losses and leave the market behind, convinced they won’t be able to make it pay. But whoever comes up with the winning formula is likely to enjoy a bonanza.

European banks risk finding themselves outpaced by US competitors in the bid to protect and exploit their intellectual property.

Ecuador's finance minister, Jorge Gallardo, is a popular man on Wall Street. He's very bright, with a quick wit and a solid grasp of economic fundamentals and economists' concerns. But when he visited New York in May, his demeanour was visibly subdued.

After a hectic period of consolidation, Portuguese banks have fed heartily off rapid economic growth, building substantial loan books, particularly in the retail sector. The boom is continuing but credit quality worries are beginning to emerge and a slowdown in growth could seriously hurt banks’ profits.

Offered a rare chance to jump into the first rank of transition economies, the jewel of the Adriatic must choose between getting ahead and just getting by.

Credit derivatives are at the heart of credit markets, yet a mystique prevails among those on the outside of the financial industry over exactly how they operate. Stephen Stonberg of Deutsche Bank examines the future of the credit derivatives market.

Mergers drive many of the changes in the annual rankings of banks by shareholders’ equity. American and Japanese groups retain the top spots. But European banks have the market capitalizations to grow further through acquisition. By Andrew Newby, data from Moody’s.