Search results for

European Stock Exchanges: New markets for old

Hope, fear and wonder as a new market opens

Hope, fear and wonder as a new market opens

NatWest's out of town success story

India: Essar's woes mark end of easy credit

Stockmarkets may be recovering but emerging market banks are still in crisis. The long struggle to restore capital adequacy will carry on for some time. When analyzing the top 200 emerging market banks, prepared by Fitch IBCA, it's important to remember this, writes Brian Caplen.

Leading supervisors on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision are giving their 1988 rules a much-needed overhaul, trying to bring capital charges closer to the banks' own view of risk and return. But who's to say the banks are right? These proposals will be fought over tooth and nail by the lowly rated, the cautious, those suspicious of too much, too hasty sophistication, and those who mistrust rating agencies. Meanwhile, turf battles continue over lax banking structures in the US and protectionist banking structures in Germany. David Shirreff reports.

Another one bites the dust

Few other areas of international finance have been as disaster-strewn in recent years as equity derivatives. A succession of investment banks, including UBS, NatWest, and Bankers Trust, have been spectacularly blown up. And last year there were widespread losses after a European retail boom in guaranteed products left dealers short of volatility. But still newcomers are queuing to join the market. Marcus Walker asks the elite players how they adapt and survive.

Deutsche Telekom's €11 billion share issue in late June was like the company itself: too big to ignore and surrounded by controversy. Retail investors in Germany, Italy and even Japan rushed to buy the deal. But institutional investors took a dimmer view. Alex Mathias reports.

Ruggero Magnoni, Vice-chairman, Lehman Brothers (Europe)

Alex Seippel, Founder, the Roundstone Group