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The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) booked its first high-profile transfer from the private sector last month, appointing Gay Evans of Bankers Trust as director of markets and exchanges. Evans will report to head of financial supervision Michael Foot from September.

Leaders of Africa's new deal

Leaders of Africa's new deal

Who's to blame for Asia's crisis? And what happens now? Nine of the region's movers and shakers give their views on the pace of change across the region, the part played by the Japanese banks, the future of Hong Kong's currency peg and the role of China.

I expect the US equity market to fall 30% to 40% this year. The catalyst for the turn in sentiment will be static (or falling) corporate profits, rising inflation and higher interest rates. Mania will drive the collapse. When the dust settles, the US economy will slide into recession. Consumers will retrench to pay down debts. The dollar will fall. It will be the dawn of a two-year bear market.

After decades of steady growth for six big banks, the Canadian banking sector is fast consolidating. The old certainties have been undermined by the announcements of mergers between Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal in January and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Toronto Dominion Bank in April. The rush to merge follows a global trend fuelled by the need to cope with increased competition, and was stimulated by the BankAmerica/NationsBank merger in the US. But unlike their US counterparts, RBC/BMO and CIBC/TD have to run the gauntlet of rigorous banking regulation, entrenched political conventions and hostile popular opinion.

Does Stephen O'Sullivan know something we don't? The former head of research at MC Securities in London has decided to move to Moscow to join the more discreet United Financial Group (UFG), a majority Russian-owned investment bank. The leading oil and gas analyst in the Russian market admits that the sale of MC Securities' Russian business (United City Bank) to Flemings has triggered his decision.

Richard Strang has spent almost all his 20-year City career at Morgan Grenfell (latterly Deutsche Morgan Grenfell), and appears, in demeanour at least, a very English banker. A tall, commanding presence, opera-loving Strang is known for his intense loyalty to his clients, for his unusual capacity for hard work and for tempering his politeness with determined persistence.

When they were winning, the traders of Garantia, Brazil's leading investment bank, were formidable masters of the universe, confident and overbearing. Now they are down - after substantial losses last year - no-one in Sao Paulo feels much pity. But beneath the emotions lie more serious issues: can the bank founded 27 years ago by former tennis champion Jorge Paulo Lemann survive independently? Will it be bought by an international house? If so, what will happen to its daring traders? Brian Caplen reports.

BankAmerica and NationsBank had both bought into hi-tech investment banking, so when they merged there was bound to be surplus capacity. It was worse than that, though. BA's Robertson Stephens and Nations' Montgomery Securities had a bitter mutual history and could hardly have worked together. Michelle Celarier reports.

Leaders of Africa's new deal

Investment bankers are sometimes accused of seeking an image that is more pin-up than pinstripes. One of their number at least will be among the throng at the Cannes film festival, but she will be quite happy for the paparazzi to keep their lenses trained on the starlets cavorting on the beach. Premila Hoon will be looking for projects to launch Société Générale's new film-finance business.