The Egyptian banking sector has needed to demonstrate resilience amid the country’s economic volatility. CIB has showed this and delivered growth, says Omar EL-Husseiny, Head of Treasury Group.

The African continent is increasingly alive with digital innovation and development in financial services. Fintechs are at the forefront of this shift. Traditional banks are racing to respond.

Africa’s most populous country and largest economy is in the middle of a financial transformation. Uzoma Dozie, founder and CEO of digital bank Sparkle, tells Euromoney about innovation, supporting small businesses and the power of generative AI.

After a strong first half of the year, Mashreq Group Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Abdelaal, talks to Euromoney about the importance of customer experience, the bank’s growth and expansion plans, operational resilience and his outlook for the remainder of the year.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in driving economic growth and job creation worldwide. However, accessing financing for international trade remains a significant challenge for many of these businesses.

Companies and their treasury teams are under increasing pressure to evolve, adapt and innovate new digital business models to thrive, and survive.

The bank’s digital transformation, underpinned by its vision to be the best digital bank with branches, is yielding positive results.

The central bank is expected to award its first digital banking licences this summer, adding fuel to a market already burning from ambitious fintechs.

As the economic outlook of Egypt improves, the country’s banking sector is expected to reap the benefits.

Companies are increasingly looking to transform their corporate treasury functions into a real-time operation. While this transformation is a compelling opportunity, it is complex, requiring key building blocks to support it and ensure success.

As the financial and digital landscape rapidly evolves, corporate treasurers are at the forefront of navigating emerging payment trends. To succeed, preparation is key.

The UAE’s decision to take on the mantle of global leadership on climate change by hosting the COP28 conference has galvanised the private sector to take action. Companies are aligning their corporate strategies with the country’s roadmap to achieve net zero in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and making their own commitments.

Christina Ma, Head of Global Banking for Asia Pacific at HSBC, discusses the digital revolution happening in the financial sector – and HSBC’s pivotal role in leading the transformation.

The private banking arm of OCBC is demonstrating differentiation and leadership on sustainability in the region.

The importance, opportunities and challenges of mainstreaming transition finance across the continent

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) has recently made strategic moves to position itself as a corporate and investment banking leader in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, signifying a shift in the institution's focus, capabilities, and commitment to its clients.

When it comes to banking, proximity and accessibility to people matter.

In the world of finance, partnerships often hold the key to success. The relationship between HSBC and fintech innovator Saxo proves the case.

Egypt has made strides towards financial inclusion as part of the country’s Vision 2030 strategy. Commercial International Bank (CIB) is one bank that is playing an important role in supporting the issue.

Up to 60 selected participants will benefit from one year’s access to online courses on Euromoney Learning On-Demand, powered by Finance Unlocked

How Egypt’s economic transformation plan has enabled the country to position itself as a trade and investment gateway to Africa.

While many financial institutions support good causes and run discrete projects to promote community well-being, Iberian leader CaixaBank has taken a unique, much longer-term approach to the idea of banking with a positive social impact.

The successful integration of Alpha Bank Albania has further boosted OTP Bank Albania’s status as the rising star of the country’s banking sector.

In this third article of a series, Adrienne Bloom, head of Asia Pacific financial institutions corporate banking at Bank of America, and Jennifer Cheung, head of Hong Kong corporate banking, explain how the bank works with clients to help them re-engineer their business and achieve their sustainability commitments.

Digital transformation is a key component of Egypt’s Vision 2030 strategy. Along with other key initiatives (ICT 2030 and Digital Egypt) it is expected to further accelerate the development of the country’s digital economy and potentially provide a blueprint for other African countries.

The UAE’s Mashreq has for years invested shrewdly in growing and developing its digital banking capabilities. As that investment continues to deliver returns, group CEO Ahmed Abdelaal explains the vision behind the success and highlights the areas where the bank is investing next.

Seeking diversification and access to high-growth markets across Africa, Egyptian banks such as Commercial International Bank have pursued select investment and M&A opportunities in recent years. The investments are paying off.

Amid global economic turbulence and uncertainty, Asean is demonstrating the type of resilience and growth other regions would be envious of. There are good reasons for this and why Asean could become the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030

The metaverse is barely three years old as a business concept outside its sci-fi beginnings. Expectations ran far ahead of reality but banks that have invested slowly and wisely in all of the associated technologies are doing the right thing. The metaverse is here to stay.

Digital banking continues to be a battleground for banks as they seek to modernise, gain a competitive advantage and ultimately deliver a better and swifter experience to their customers.

The Dominican Republic’s Banreservas has had a busy and productive 12 months including delivering some record-setting financial results for 2022, and launching an ambitious international expansion plan.

While the weakness in the US commercial market remains top of mind for most investors, the story in Asia is different, argues Chew Chong Lim, managing director and global head of real estate, institutional banking group, DBS Bank

It is no secret that cloud computing technology has revolutionised the financial services industry over the last few years. Its capabilities include enabling companies to scale their resources, ensure disaster recovery, extend their reach globally and enhance testing and development environments. For banks in particular, these capabilities present significant opportunities.

Banks are prime targets for cybercriminals who are always looking for new ways to steal money, data, and customer information. Institutions are effectively in a constant battle of innovation, requiring them to invest heavily to help predict and combat emerging threats from sophisticated criminals.

BRI has set out a vision to support financial inclusion efforts in Indonesia, and the bank's digital transformation strategy is one way of helping it achieve this goal. In an interview, Agus Noorsanto, BRI director of wholesale and institutional business discusses BRI’s vision, expansion plans and how it's leveraging digital technologies to enhance the customer experience and drive growth.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will host its 32nd annual meeting and business forum in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on 16 -18 May 2023.

There is growing hope among banking and business leaders that the country’s next government can unlock and accelerate needed transformational development and economic reform. Without it, Kuwait risks falling further behind.

In the second in a series of articles, Leo Weng, treasury director, APAC, at Avery Dennison joins Rakshith Kundha, head of trade and supply chain finance, APAC, global transaction services at Bank of America, to discuss the importance of driving ESG goals across the supply chain.

Cross-border payments are entering an exciting new era with the global introduction of the data-rich ISO 20022 standard. To find out what outcomes banks and customers can look forward to, Swift's Stephen Lindsay spoke to Isabel Schmidt, co-head of payment products, BNY Mellon.

Mashreq has been transforming its corporate and investment banking group (CIBG) over the past few years. In an interview, Joel Van Dusen, head of CIBG, explains the need for change, where investment has focused, and how how the bank is leveraging its capabilities to drive growth.

There has never been a time in the history of capitalism when an acronym has been so influential. ESG – or environmental, social, and governance – has taken the corporate world by storm, effectively reorientating how companies and investors see the world and their role in it. It’s a profound shift, which, despite encountering some push back recently, has not lost any of its inexorable momentum. It is, however, evolving, and fast, and that is needed.

In an interview with Lia Cao, global co-head of corporate and e-commerce sales and solutions at J.P. Morgan Payments, she outlines some of the key marketplace trends emerging this year, how companies can capitalise effectively from business model transformation, what this means for working capital and liquidity management, and the game plan corporate treasurers need to think about and execute to maximise this opportunity.

David López Puig, head of human resources and member of the CaixaBank management committee since January 2022, discusses people and talent management trends, as well as some of the challenges CaixaBank, Spain’s leading bank in terms of assets, clients and market shares, faces in this area after its integration with Bankia.

In the first of a series of articles, Param Thind, APAC head of digital channels at Bank of America, looks at the crucial role digitisation plays in helping clients meet their sustainability objectives and how artificial intelligence is improving analytics and automating manual processes.

In January 2020 the European Central Bank (ECB) started to study the issuance of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), or the so-called digital euro.

Corporate treasury has undergone material transformation over the last few years, impacted by everything from cyclical economic trends, and regulatory initiatives, to rising geopolitical risks, digitisation, and the drive towards greater sustainability.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a key area of focus for Rawbank. In an interview, the bank highlights some of the CSR initiatives it is undertaking and explains how digital innovation in banking is supporting financial inclusion.

Technological advancement has revolutionised the payments industry over the past couple of decades, even as far as redefining the forms of money we use. Of all the innovations driving this transformation, blockchain technology is at the forefront, pushing the boundaries of payments as never before, says Lim Soon Chong, group head of global transaction services at DBS.

A new wave of restructuring is set to shape the healthcare industry after a decade of consolidation.

Bank of America research shows that 71% of healthcare firms expect M&A to increase in the coming year, driven by the need for scale and cost reduction

For many financial institutions it has become more crucial than ever to have a digital transformation strategy to drive growth and become future ready. If banks are to remain competitive they need to find ways to accelerate digital innovation. In an interview Abdullah Abdulkareem Al-Tuwaijri, CEO of consumer, private, and digital banking at Boubyan Bank explains how the bank's digital transformation strategy is shaping the future of the bank.

With its sights on seamless cross-border capabilities, Taiwan's largest lender is opening the door to red-hot investing opportunities in renewable energy in the region.

Under the leadership of CEO Bledar Shella, OTP Bank Albania has assertively grown and developed into one of the country’s leading banks, boasting stellar profits and the type of shareholder returns most western European peers would be envious of.

The transformation of energy, natural resource, oil and gas firms is ramping up. With a host of new entrants, many of these markets will face convergence and the development of new ecosystems.

This is the decade of the electric car, with forecasters expecting sales of electric vehicles to overtake sales of internal combustion engine vehicles in the coming years.

Euromoney and Bank of America have partnered to produce an original sponsored content series that highlights and analyses important topics for corporate treasurers.

The e-commerce growth opportunity in new markets comes with the challenges, cost and risk of foreign exchange.

Cross-border e-commerce is booming. By 2027, the value of cross-border payments could hit $250 trillion.

Ali Almakky, global head of payment solutions for the mobility sector at J.P. Morgan, looks at the key components of the automotive payments ecosystem fuelled by the evolution of the ‘connected car’.

Afghanistan International Bank provided vital lifelines to society during the challenges that gripped Afghanistan in 2021. In an interview, CEO Joseph Carasso speaks about the mission and strategies that enabled the bank to support Afghan society during one of the most difficult years for the country.

Kuwait’s Boubyan Bank is one of the leading Islamic banking institutions in the country and the Gulf Cooperation Council region. But its ambitions do not stop there, it aims to be a top five Islamic bank in the world, supported by expansion in its corporate banking business.

After a stellar year for growth in 2021, the Swiss banking group and online trading and execution provider, has ambitious plans to leverage its balance sheet and grow its FX business, according to Mohamed Hajibe, global head of institutional desk, and Maxime Mordelet, digital asset and eFX institutional liquidity manager.

Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) has played a leading role in Qatar's economic and social development since it was established as the country's first private sector bank in 1974. In an interview, Sheikh Abdulla Bin Ali Bin Jabor Al Thani, chairman of CBQ, discusses the bank's achievements to date, how CBQ is driving its digital strategy and the resilience of Qatar's economy amid rising political, economic and social challenges.

Accelerating digitisation and technological advancement have caused tremendous change in the global payments industry over the last decade. Yet this next decade – one destined to be super-connected and increasingly spanning physical, digital and virtual worlds – and beyond, promises to deliver a revolution, say JPMorgan’s Jeremy Balkin, global head of innovation and corporate development, and Neha Wattas, head of strategic insights, innovation and corporate development

Quantum computers are supposed to be much faster and more powerful than current supercomputers, and as such, their application could have a profound impact on any industry. As banks begin to embrace quantum computing, potential use cases for the banking industry are emerging. CaixaBank is one bank that is demonstrating these through its quantum banking programme.

This webinar is sponsored by Datasite and will be hosted on the BrightTALK platform.

Ciaran Byrne, global head of clearing transformation at JPMorgan, looks at how all participants in the payments industry can make the most of the transition to ISO 20022.

The Indonesian bank provides corporations around the world with some innovative cash management, liquidity and payment solutions. In an interview, Adi Sulistyowati, vice president director of BNI, explains the importance of the transaction banking business to the group, what differentiates it, and highlights areas for investment this year.

Priyanka Rath, global head of liquidity and account solutions specialists at JPMorgan, and Lula Sheena, third-party money product executive at JPMorgan, explore some of the key considerations for corporates holding or processing third-party money flows.

Hong Kong property developer Sino Group not only embraces sustainability at the core of its business model, it is also at the forefront of driving the green and sustainable agenda in Asia’s real estate industry. In an exclusive interview, Mr Daryl Ng, deputy chairman, Sino Group, explains the importance of sustainability to the company and how the company is demonstrating this.

The metaverse encompasses a range of digitally enhanced environments, using virtual and augmented reality to create different types of experience for workers and consumers. So, what might a bank look like in the metaverse? And how would it enhance its clients’ experience of banking? Imagin, CaixaBank’s digital services and lifestyle platform, and its imaginLAND, offers a glimpse into a meta future.

Private banking in China is entering a new era of growth and development. Wang Yanrong, general manager of private banking at China Merchants Bank – Euromoney’s Best Overall Private Bank in China – describes the transition and the role private banks should play.

Chinese financial institutions are among those at the forefront of the global push to accelerate the transition to a low carbon future. Industrial Bank of China, a pioneer of green finance in the country, is one financial institution that is leading the charge in helping China reach its climate change goals. 

2021 was another strong year for Bank of China’s ambitious bond underwriting business, which maintained its leadership in some markets, and pioneered new transactions in others.

A bank’s technology solutions and commitment to sustainability, both in its operations and in the advice and products it provides to clients, are increasingly a competitive advantage in any banking business. For Taiwan’s CTBC Bank, its investment and commitment to these two areas is paying off and keeping it ahead of the competition, especially in private banking and wealth management.

Over the past few years, Ahli United Bank (AUB) has accelerated its digital transformation strategy – encompassing various initiatives from the back office to the front and across its operations and core banking businesses. It is a strategy designed to improve the operational efficiency of the bank and enhance the service it provides to its customers. In an interview, AUB CEO, Adel El-Labban, discusses the strategy, what differentiates it from other banks’, and the areas they are targeting for digital investment this year.

Banks have a pivotal role to play in accelerating the transition to a low carbon economy; they can direct financing towards activities that are aligned to the Paris Agreement, and away from those that are not. They are the key intermediaries of the investment required to reach net zero. And they can help their clients with strategies and products that support the transition toward a sustainable economy. Some are doing better than others.

With many obstacles facing women's financial inclusion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, addressing them is a key priority for the Egyptian government. In an interview, Hussein Abaza, CEO and managing director of CIB discusses how Egypt's financial sector has taken steps to promote gender equality and women's economic empowerment in the country.

Sustainable finance is growing rapidly in the MENA region. With more countries entering the green bond market in recent years and global green bond investment set to double and reach $$1 trillion for the first time in a single year by the end of 2022, tackling the climate crisis is top of everyone’s agenda. CIB CEO and managing director Hussein Abaza discusses the opportunities for the MENA region to advance sustainability practices.

Commercial Bank of Qatar’s financial results across the year have been strong, capping five years of growth and development under its strategic plan. In an interview, Rehan Khan, CFO of CBQ, discusses some of the highlights from the bank’s performance, how its investment in digitisation is paying off, and what its main financial focus will be for 2022

High-net-worth individuals today demand a wide array of sustainable investment options and increasingly sophisticated digital services. Larger, integrated institutions may be best placed to benefit from these trends.

Luis Javier Blas Agüeros, chief operating officer at CaixaBank outlines how banks can ensure their future success through innovation, cloud technology and the reinvention of their products and services.

Technological advancement is revolutionising financial services, and in the next few years even more profound change is likely to happen. Blockchain – or distributed ledger technology – is one technological advance in particular that offers immense potential to completely transform areas of transaction banking, if not the entire financial industry, says Lim Soon Chong, group head of global transaction services at DBS.

Australian banks are ready to return in force to the capital markets for their fundraising activity, with investors in Asia set to play a critical role in the deals.

Digital transformation has been a core pillar of Commercial Bank of Qatar’s five-year strategic plan, initiated in 2016. After consecutive years of investment in digitising its operations and banking businesses, the bank’s operational efficiency and financial performance has strengthened, highlighting the success of the transformation so far.

Environmental, social and governance considerations have been a strategic focus for CIB for quite a few years, pushing the Egyptian lender to the forefront of the regional banking industry's embrace of ESG issues. In an interview, CIB CEO Hussein Abaza, explains the importance of these issues to the bank and how this is reflected across its operations and businesses.

Anders la Cour, chief executive officer of Banking Circle Group, talks about the payments bank’s latest research, and how chief information and chief technology officers can future-proof their businesses.

In an interview, Gautier Mouzelard, head of transformation and compliance for global trade finance at BNP Paribas outlines the key elements of the bank’s digital transformation strategy in the business.

In this article, Yves Longchamp, head of research at SEBA Bank, explains the rise of digital assets and highlights an important component to unlocking greater institutional adoption.  

Mainland China’s sustainable bond market has gone from strength to strength recently, with issuers and investors finding new opportunities – and embracing international standards.

David Newns, global head of GlobalLink execution services, talks to Euromoney about some of the factors that have enabled the multi-dealer platform to increase its market share and achieve top ranking in the Euromoney 2021 FX survey.

Sriram Muthukrishnan, group head of product management, global transaction services, DBS, explains how digitisation is accelerating the sustainability agenda.

The European banking sector is facing three key challenges: a prolonged period of negative interest rates, the pace and scale of the digital transformation of the sector, and increased competition from established and new entrants.

In an interview, Shi Bo, general manager and CIO (equity) of Southern Asset Management, warns of lower short-term stock market returns ahead, but sees plenty of opportunity for growth in investment advisory.

The CEO of one of the world’s largest banks said recently that institutions “risk losing their licence to operate”, if they fail to make green finance a priority. At a recent annual general meeting of another global bank, there were many questions about sustainability, leaving little time for discussion of more traditional financial matters. Momentum has been building for years, but now sustainable banking is coming of age.

It can be difficult to imagine a world in which real-time payments are the norm for businesses. Yet Jon Levine, co-head of institutional banking at payments bank, Banking Circle, explains why the reality is closer than businesses realise.

Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service recently assigned a B1 credit rating to Jusan Bank, one of Kazakhstan’s leading banks. The award is in recognition of the successful work and strategy of the bank's new management team. In an interview, Aibek Kayip, Jusan’s chairman of the management board, explains what has been achieved by the bank, and highlights some of the new challenges it is facing.

Digital transformation has been a core pillar of Commercial Bank of Qatar’s five-year strategic plan, initiated in 2016. In an interview, Joseph Abraham, group CEO, talks about what evolving into a more digital enterprise means for the bank and its retail and wholesale banking businesses.

Digital transformation is beginning to have a profound impact on the advice, services and products that banks such as Ahli United Bank provide to their corporate banking customers.

After a robust year, China’s securitization market is poised to reach new highs in 2021. Li Zhiming of CICC, the go-to investment bank for securitized products, highlights some opportunities and risks in this fast-growing segment.

There was a dramatic and necessary shift last year by banks to harness digital technology to execute M&A. That shift, as a result of societies in lockdown and travel restricted, has brought clear advantages and efficiencies that will have an impact on the way M&A is executed in years to come.

BNP Paribas’s Instanea instant payments initiation solution is a benchmark for how corporates can benefit from open banking, explains Carlo Bovero, global head of cards and retail payments at BNP Paribas, and Neil Pein, co-global head of Axepta BNP Paribas and head of payments transformation.

Digital transformation is beginning to have a profound impact on the advice, services and products that banks such as Ahli United Bank provide to their retail and private banking customers.

Rapid and widespread digital adoption by banking customers, and accelerated digitalisation across financial services in response to Covid-19, have expanded the opportunity for fraud, and money laundering in particular.

Dr Louise Beaumont works with legislators and regulators to create disruption, with corporates to cope with disruption, and with start-ups to exploit disruption – with open and accessible data as the guiding principle. She is an expert in innovations in Open Banking, Open Finance, Lending and Payments.

In the course of a difficult year, China Merchants Bank’s private banking business has gone from strength to strength, extending its lead over domestic rivals and solidifying its position among the international top tier.

Sustainable finance is no longer just a virtue-signalling additional option to have in the corporate toolbox. It is a core part of a broader purpose, says Societe Generale’s Alexandre Maymat, head of global transaction and payment services.

Standard Chartered’s refreshed strategy in Ghana is proving a success story.

BBVA is an organization with a transformational purpose: to create a positive impact on the lives of people, companies and society as a whole and “to bring the age of opportunity to everyone.”

Digital transformation is a long term, ongoing strategy that has gained even greater momentum at Ping An Bank this year, complementing the entire group’s commitment to continuous innovation. For its outstanding achievement, the bank is named “World’s Best Digital Bank” in Euromoney’s Awards for Excellence 2020.

Green and sustainable finance are gaining support in the United Arab Emirates, although risk considerations have also gained a new prominence.

Sustainability considerations are gaining significant ground in Canadian financing and investing, though investors in particular still report some obstacles to full engagement.

Improving financial inclusion is a key objective of CIB’s African expansion – a strategy that is already gaining momentum outside Egypt.

CIB is at the forefront of innovation in Egyptian banking through its involvement in a number of initiatives designed to accelerate digital transformation.

For the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the outlook is stability, resilience and, in time, growth.

China's dynamic market sees scope for innovation when it comes to sustainable finance, however old habits persist when it comes to coal.

In late October we spoke in-person, in Dubai, to Joel Van Dusen, head of corporate and investment banking at Mashreq Bank, to understand how the bank and its clients were navigating the long journey that the pandemic has become.

One of the world’s largest banks, Bank of China has become a leader in international cash management services by continuously developing and refining its offering to multinational institutions and enterprises.

The response of Commercial International Bank (CIB) to the coronavirus crisis can be seen as validation of a long-term strategy to become a more customer-centric and sustainable organization.

Ping An’s domination as a financial services group in China has catapulted it into the global limelight, but Richard Sheng, board secretary and brand director, says its culture is what makes it important

Swift has embarked on a strategy that will enable seamless transactions between accounts with end-to-end transparency and predictability. Chief Strategy Officer David Watson explains how this transition will impact payments and securities worldwide.

The third and final live panel in our CEE Forward series focused on how banks and their tech partners have responded to changes in customer behaviour and needs during the pandemic, and how they are positioning to support their clients and the wider society in a post-Covid world.

Corporates have done an incredible job of facilitating work at home. By ensuring this is not done at the expense of cybersecurity, they can reduce their exposure to future attacks explains JF Legault, managing director and global head of cybersecurity operations at J.P. Morgan.

Correspondent banking is alive and well and has a key role to play in the future of international payments, according to Societe Generale’s Didier Balland, head of marketing for correspondent banking, cash clearing services, Jean-Francois Mazure, head of cash clearing services, global transaction banking and Frantz Teissèdre, head of interbank relationships, global transaction banking

Mouhammed Choukeir, chief executive officer of Kleinwort Hambros, explains how the bank will play a leading role in the evolution of responsible banking.

Strong growth pushes Zhengzhou Hi-tech into top 20 in China’s industrial development zone rankings

Given the widespread disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become critical that corporates improve the transparency and visibility within their treasury functions explain Priyanka Rath, EMEA head and Amy Eckhoff, APAC head of Liquidity Product Solutions Specialists, J.P. Morgan.

Eric Flour, deputy CEO of Societe Generale Factoring in charge of CSR resources and sponsors, explains how factoring, an essential lever of short-term financing for companies, has a strong impact in corporate social responsibility.

Sustainable finance is growing, offering surprising hope for investors and issuers as well as the planet

Labels can be misleading, none more so than those that try to reduce entire generations to a handful of shared characteristics. However, as technology has come to dominate our lives, its cycles also frame some of the key behaviours of particular cohorts.

On October 26, China’s top environmental and financial regulators jointly issued the “Guiding Opinions on Promoting Investment and Financing in Response to Climate Change”, which says that a preliminary scheme of climate investment and financing will be in place in China by 2025, and the scale of funds invested in the field of climate change will increase significantly.

Wim Grosemans, head of product management, payments and receivables at BNP Paribas, and Steven Lenaerts, head of product management Global Channels at BNP Paribas, explain the significance for corporate clients of the bank’s recent advances in instant payments.

Harvest Fund Management believes its local knowledge and approach to research gives it an edge over international asset managers on critical market issues such as the development of ESG investing.

The second live panel in our CEE Forward series focused on the challenges of bringing Central and Eastern Europe up to speed on sustainability and the opportunities this creates.

Banking has changed in the face of the pandemic and is the more secure for it, according to Katy Leclaire, Chief Risk Officer, Cedric Bauer, Business Continuity Manager and Eric Bendavid, Chief Information Security Officer on Societe Generale's Transaction Banking team.

The dynamics of money markets have been widely varied this year, from heavy March outflows to record Q2 inflows, under the shadow of the pandemic. This webinar sets out to understand how these events are affecting the money markets, and download the supporting white paper which gives practical insights into how we can work together to create a more effective, efficient and resilient market for all.

Veronika Zhukova, managing director, head of financial products and innovations at Sber Private Banking, discusses the importance of digital innovation and how the bank is helping clients understand the value of ESG investment.

Evgeny Kochemazov, chief investment officer for A-Club at Alfa-Bank, looks at how developments in the bond market have challenged the established view of this asset class.

Eleonore Bedel explains how helping BNP Paribas Wealth Management clients to make the right investment decisions can create a greater impact for all

China Merchants Bank is the primary bank in its market. Its success has been down to a long-term vision as much as a long-term perspective on its assets under management.

Digitization and data have been the mantra of trade finance experts and consultants for several years now. In this article, we address the central issues currently facing the data universe and how the trend can best be accelerated.

Covid-19 has caused banks, fintechs and payment providers to accelerate their digitalization strategies. Anders la Cour, co-founder and chief executive officer of Banking Circle, discusses the vital role of digital financial infrastructure in rebuilding banking to face an uncertain and unpredictable future.

A keen eye for trends sees China’s top private bank leading from the front

Covid-19 has exposed gaps in global trade ecosystems, but there is no better time than now for industries and businesses to transform, says Daniel Lit, executive director for trade product management, global transaction services, DBS Bank

Digitalization should allow banks to focus on what really matters – their relationships with their customers

In a post-Covid world, competitiveness will be more important than ever. The heads of Erste Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and leading regional private equity firm Mid Europa Partners discussed how Central and Eastern Europe can take advantage of a changing global environment in a post-Covid world.

Daniel Wu, president of CTBC Financial Holding, discusses the bank’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and digitization, particularly in making it easier for customers to access banking services.

Setting trends in China has led Southern Asset Management to sustained growth and new opportunities

Banco de Reservas de la República Dominicana (Banreservas) has led the Dominican Republic’s financial sector as it battles the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Huobi Group’s Ciara Sun says that cryptocurrencies are continuing to fascinate investors looking to diversify their portfolios

CCB Match Plus is a smart matchmaking platform safely connecting businesses that cannot trade easily in today’s disrupted markets

Tarek El Nahas, Head of International at Mashreq Bank joined (remotely) Richard Banks, Editor, Euromoney LiveStream to talk about the banks’ international network and the opportunities brought by new trade, business and investment flows.

Daniel Wild, global head of ESG strategy at Credit Suisse, explains how the bank’s approach to sustainable investing is helping investors achieve their societal and financial objectives.

In the first in a series of head-to-head articles, Southern Asset Management and Franklin Templeton offer a China-first and international perspective on equities.

J.P. Morgan’s commitment to optimizing its sustainable investment offering has seen its private banking solutions evolve in line with client requirements.

Mid- to long-term bonds appear to be the sweet spot of the Chinese bond market, according to a recent online roundtable discussion between Euromoney and local leading asset managers

The money market is rapidly becoming a 24-hour industry. But as it becomes more global, continuous and wide-reaching, is that making it easier or harder to do business?

Caixabank is determined to help its customers understand the bewildering array of services offered by a modern bank

Ellis Wang, EVP, Technology, Transformation and Information at Mashreq Bank joined Richard Banks, Editor, Euromoney LiveStream (remotely) to talk about the banks’ investment in and drive towards a digital-first future.

Karim Labadi, Global Head of Transaction Banking at Mashreq Bank sat down (remotely) with Richard Banks, Editor, Euromoney LiveStreams to talk about the impact of the pandemic on GTB and the future of the Mashreq platform.

Helping clients understand how to grow their wealth is a key element of Credit Suisse’s Asian private banking wealth planning service.

Joel Van Dusen, Head of Corporate and Investment Banking at Mashreq Bank talked to Richard Banks, Editor, Euromoney LiveStreams about the challenges of managing through the pandemic and prospects for the future.

Who will emerge from the Covid crisis stronger – challenger banks or the incumbent giants?

Industrial Bank is one of the Chinese banks working to ensure the world post-Covid-19 looks as green as can be, through a diversity of green finance products designed to support investment.

Digitalization has acquired a new urgency in the post-Covid world, says Banking Circle’s CEO, Anders la Cour.

The turmoil of Covid-19 has starkly questioned how automation can help money markets build resiliency against the most massive disruption.

In Zhengzhou Hi-tech Development Zone, efforts are under way to carefully contain the Covid-19 epidemic and fully support the resumption of productivity at the same time.

The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the switch to digital banking and digital banks, argues KBC’s Johan Thijs, but much of the upheaval was predicted to happen.

In this two-part podcast, we explore the history and expansion of the private sector and venture capital into space exploration, including insights from Nasa’s chief economist, Alexander MacDonald; Apollo astronaut, Bill Anders; CEO of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, Mary Lynne Dittmar; and venture capitalist and Space X and Tesla board director, Steve Jurvetson.

Big data, satellite feeds from space and social media platforms is just some of the technology changing corporate disclosure. In this episode, we will be looking at the tech innovations that are helping corporates map their supply chain and influence environmental social and governance (ESG) goals on the way.

Financial infrastructure provider Banking Circle and Euromoney are hosting a webinar to understand whether Covid-19 could offer newer banks the chance to seize the market in a world where digital is more important than ever.

The coronavirus outbreak will fundamentally change society and the workplace. It has highlighted how digital agility is the difference between those organizations able to remain operational at all times and those that are not. Nowhere has this been more evident than in banking. In an uncertain future, one thing is certain: digital leadership will drive market leadership.

Over $30 trillion has been invested in environmental social and governance (ESG) themed assets. With over 600 ESG rankings and ratings and over 4,000 ESG key performance indicators, standardization has never been more important. But who decides on ESG standards in the corporate supply chain and how can banks help corporate treasurers navigate this evolving market?

Focusing on the people’s livelihoods and fulfilling social responsibilities – China Construction Bank reports operating results for 2019

The world as we know it has turned on its head. Reeling from Covid-19, supply chains have fractured beyond recognition and firms globally are scrambling to stay afloat in order to get goods to market. But as the lockdown continues, are companies cutting corners – and putting their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals aside – at the expense of their workers? The same workers who will be vital once the recovery begins?

In the latest series of Treasury and Turbulence, Euromoney will examine where Sustainable Finance in the supply chain holds up, and where it falls down.

The sudden shift to digital banking channels as a result of coronavirus lockdowns creates significant cybersecurity challenges for the banking industry. Those institutions furthest progressed towards safe digitalization will stand out as part of the solution to today’s challenges, and will become crucial actors in the post-Covid-19 world.

Achieving the best credit ratings in Latin America, issuing its first green bond, approving its most important project and welcoming a high-quality new member, 2019 was some year for the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). The Honduras-headquartered bank will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year in stronger shape than ever.

Paraguay’s positive growth and credit metrics create a compelling investment story and Banco Basa is leading the country’s financial evolution – for the benefit of both domestic and international investors, says president Fernando Paciello.

A willingness to explore opportunities beyond its core markets coupled with intelligent use of technology has enabled Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to significantly expand its customer base, says Krishnakumar Duraiswamy, ADCB head of trade finance.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank is capitalizing on the determination of the UAE government and central bank to promote payment automation and digitization. Jacek Kurantowicz, head of cash management, explains why.

Small and agile businesses demand a bank that can leverage technology quickly and effectively.

Zhengzhou National Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone is attracting the attention of the world as a leader in economic development – but why?

Morgan Stanley's chief sustainability officer, Audrey Choi, outlines the bank’s perspective on tackling the problem of plastic waste

The formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area is expected to boost trade volumes across the continent. Corporates that leverage local banking knowledge and services will be well placed to take advantage of this opportunity, writes Emmanuel Ajayi, managing director, head of FX trading, Africa, Standard Chartered.

David Mann, Standard Chartered’s global chief economist, plots the year ahead for banks around the world.

BNP Paribas’s first payment tracking solution for beneficiaries demonstrates the cooperative focus the bank is taking with its corporate customers.

Sustainable growth is the goal of every business, says Tan Chor Sen, head of international, global commercial banking, OCBC Bank. To survive, entrepreneurs must act on digitalization to drive innovative processes, products and services that positively impact revenue and costs.

Star corporates at the 2019 World Sensors Summit in Zhengzhou point to opportunity for investment in the region

Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises to transform financial services, enabling banks to tailor products and services to customers’ needs at the times they need them; but success means solving both technology issues and challenges around security, privacy and ethics.

Deciding whether or not to hedge against foreign exchange risks is a lot like deciding about insurance: by the time you realise you need it, it might be too late, too expensive, or both.

Across the globe, cities are growing at an unprecedented rate and are now home to the majority of the world’s population. By 2050, it’s estimated that two out of three people worldwide will live in cities.

Various programmes designed to facilitate foreign investment have boosted financial market reform in China, and the internationalization of the renminbi. As bond market liberalization nears completion and the onshore stock market opens up to foreign ownership, corporate and investor interest in the Chinese currency is picking up.

A huge amount of progress has been achieved in recent times in the field of rapid, even almost instant, payments. Few would argue with that assertion. Intraday transfers between domestic retail and corporate accounts have become entrenched to the point where even technophobic customers have embraced them.

Standard Chartered is sponsoring a series of Euromoney webinars to tackle the latest challenges and opportunities in the global financial markets. Register below to join our next webinar discussion covering global economic growth in 2019.

Like its domestic peers, the UAE’s oldest lender is branching out into new markets, using digital innovation to boost profits and cut costs.

Accessing restricted FX markets can be a considerable challenge for corporates and investors. Many markets still require local institutions to support trades despite an increasingly globalised world. After a year of trade tensions and rising geopolitical uncertainty, this is unlikely to change any time soon.

In an increasingly interconnected financial realm, multinational businesses need a cash management partner that has global reach as well as best-in-class services. Bank of China offers a five-star service that is unrivalled in its expertise and international connections.

The world’s energy companies are recasting their activities not only to reduce their carbon emissions but also to diversify into forms of energy that don’t produce emissions at all.

CMB’s investment in technology signals a focus on the future

As technology continues to drive huge change in financial markets, do banks need to think differently about thinking differently?

Localization is key for OCBC Bank as it supports Asian clients who want to venture further afield.

In this podcast episode Euromoney will examine what the energy industry can learn from the Ørsted story.

The days of ‘pay and pray’ are over. A new normal of fast, transparent international payments has begun as companies around the world embrace SWIFT’s global payments innovation (gpi).

Having established the efficacy of the service, the focus of Swift global payment initiative (gpi) has moved to how its full value can be passed on to corporate clients. Wim Grosemans, global head of product management for payments and receivables at BNP Paribas, and Marc Delbaere, Swift’s global head of corporates and trade, explain how this is being achieved.

Technology is allowing banks to respond to customer requests with increasing precision, despite rising expectations and pressures on time ‒ but excellent service demands something more.

Heads or tails? The ‘either/or’ idea sits at the heart of everything from binary computers to Monte Carlo risk simulations, but in the world of quantum computing it’s heads AND tails ‒ and everything in between.

Bank of China successfully launched a SWIFT direct connection business for Otis Electric Elevator Co. Ltd.

Ayala Land, the Philippines’ leading property developer, has swept the board in the 15th annual Euromoney survey of the global real estate markets.

Sustainable investing is redefining the traditional investing landscape. Investors have established their interest, and are now asking how their investments are making a positive impact.

A series examining how sustainable finance solutions may help us address the crisis our planet faces.

Trust matters more in banking now than ever before.

“Fintech” has become a buzzword in recent years ‒ headlining conferences and becoming a crucial investment focus for many establishment financial institutions. But fintech itself is not a new concept.

Sustainable finance, in all its forms, is where much of the innovation in the financial sector in the coming years is likely to be focused. That conclusion can be drawn from many indicators in the recent HSBC Sustainable Financing & Investing Survey on attitudes to sustainability, covering 500 investors and 500 issuers.

The correlation that exists between the adoption of best-in-class risk management practices and shareholder value offers a clear path of opportunity for companies to outperform their peers financially.

Financial services and public sector development organisations are turning to innovative technology to secure access to financial aid.

Rapid digital transformation is critical to the evolution of the banking industry. But it comes with new responsibilities to keep customers and their data safe from cyber crime.

Transaction banking has always relied on technology and digital solutions to provide value to clients. Today it is all about transforming client experience through the use of automated services and solution providers for niche services, explains Isaac Thomas, head of transaction banking at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

Colin Fraser, group head of wholesale banking at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, explains how maintaining its commitment to small and medium-sized business lending has enabled the bank to gain market share in the face of difficult economic conditions.

The time has come to examine exactly how adoption of the ISO 20022 messaging standard will happen. To make the process as smooth as possible, banks need to understand the scope of changes required, secure resources and plan their implementation projects, according to Saqib Sheikh, global head of the ISO 20022 programme at Swift.

Cross-border payments are getting faster but some elements of friction still remain, slowing down the process. Will the industry ever achieve 100% straight-through-processing (STP) rates?

The evolution of technology continues to play a pivotal role in the creation of a digital world that is continuously being transformed – be it in the consumer space with self-driving cars or in the corporate space with distributed ledgers, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The UAE’s biggest private lender is a pioneer, embracing technology and innovation long before its peers. In retail banking, it is pushing back the boundaries in digital, finding new ways to serve customers – and to bring new clients into the fold.

A series examining how sustainable finance solutions may help us address the crisis our planet faces.

The growing use of application programming interfaces (APIs) is challenging how businesses communicate and how client solutions are developed and delivered. APIs enable new solutions that address demands for personalized services and immediate fulfilment – driving industry innovation, disruption and connectivity.

OCBC is the oldest established Singapore bank and the second-largest financial services group in southeast Asia.

Stories of corporate treasury innovating to mitigate external threats.

Businesses today compete as much, if not more, on customer experience as they do on price. Delivering that across all channels, digital and physical, drives a win-win of engagement, profitability and tailored service. But to achieve this, banks need cutting-edge data analytics to provide the necessary insights.

The adoption of ISO 20022 creates significant opportunities for banks. It will enable rich customer experiences, make compliance more efficient, and allow banks to future-proof their business and keep pace with new competition, according to Saqib Sheikh, global head of the ISO 20022 programme at Swift.

As global economic growth slows, Asia’s high-growth markets look especially appealing to debt investors.

Trade creates a vast and fragmented ecosystem, involving a wide range of different players across various industries: manufacturers, retailers, customs, transport and logistics, insurers, banks and others. All have a part to play in their interlocking local, regional and global networks.

With a select group of economies likely to grow at 7% into the 2020s, investors that take a long-term view can make the most of the opportunity.

As Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries strive to diversify their economies away from oil, capital markets have become unexpectedly valuable partners.

Discussion around digital assets is taking the industry by storm and growing at an unprecedented pace. But as the world embraces the next iterations of technology in banking and capital markets, questions arise. Do we have clear definitions and understandings of these digital assets? How do differing definitions by regulators lead to challenges and conflicts? Have we accounted for the different risks that this technology brings about? Our webinar will find out.

Mashreq Bank’s deep and long-standing presence at the heart of the Middle East has paid handsome dividends for the Dubai lender and its corporate clients, placing it at the heart of trade corridors stretching from Asia to Africa and Europe.

As trade friction between China and the United States escalates, the situation is having the unintended consequence of benefiting certain countries. We take a look at who these ‘winners’ are and how treasurers are managing the disruption.

How blue financing can support the fight against climate change

The secure messaging service Request to Pay has the potential to significantly ease the burden of managing receivables for corporates across Europe. Euromoney asked Dennie Servranckx, senior product manager receivables and Francis De Roeck, Payment Regulations Expert at BNP Paribas to explain how corporates will benefit from the new service.

There is an increasing sense of urgency about putting the global economy on a path towards sustainable development.

Cash management remains a crucial part of banking as well as a catalyst for technological innovation. Whether it is the completion of a multitude of transactions or working across myriad currencies, Societe Generale continues to stand at the vanguard of development in this plain but crucial operation.

A series examining how sustainable finance solutions may help us address the crisis our planet faces.

In an era of increasing global connectivity, BOCI’s Investment Banking Division has established a reputation as one of the world’s most innovative and highly regarded investment banks, with an enviable history of landmark deals.

As the global trend towards real-time payments systems continues to accelerate, many industry stakeholders fear increased fraud – and rightly so.

A series examining how sustainable finance solutions may help us address the crisis our planet faces.

A series examining how sustainable finance solutions may help us address the crisis our planet faces.

China’s Panda bond market continues to develop and internationalise, what does it means for China in a globalising world?

To be ‘in your element’ means to be right where you want to be – where you can deploy your skills and expertise to achieve your objectives. A treasurer’s ‘element’ is money.

The next step in the digitalization of banking will likely lean heavily on artificial intelligence. But the ethical implications of algorithms, machine learning and robotic process automation are complex. So which issues and conversations keep AI experts up at night?

Anne-Claire Gorge, head of product management & innovation for trade services at Societe Generale and member of the we.trade board of directors, explains how distributed register technology is driving change in the international trade sector.

The trade war between the United States and China reignited in May, when the US government increased tariffs on Chinese goods and began to target individual companies. What will come next? Which sectors are most exposed? Is there anywhere safe for global investors? The latest webinar between Euromoney and Standard Chartered will find out.

Open banking via application programming interface (API) is an integral component of the future of banking. Some in the industry will welcome that fact. Others will not. But in order to prepare, we must accept that it is a fact.

“As financial policymakers and prudential supervisors we cannot ignore the obvious physical risks before our eyes. Climate change is a global problem, which requires global solutions, in which the whole financial sector has a central role to play.”

Customers demand speed, simplicity and security in their digital interactions. The technology industry gives them passwords, smart cards and dongles – and with them the problem of remembering which one should be used for which service. Biometric identification solves many of these key ID verification problems bedevilling the digital economy. CaixaBank’s launch of its game-changing biometric ATMs shows how face recognition is moving mainstream.

China’s opening capital markets are unlocking a world of opportunity for investors and building bridges with businesses and governments on every continent. The Bank of China is at the heart of these initiatives to create pioneering new global partnerships.

Treasury management is on the brink of a transformation. Emerging new technologies and accelerating transaction speeds are driving treasurers to overturn traditional operating models, extricate themselves from day-to-day processing and engage more directly with their businesses to drive growth.

Technology. It’s a metamorphic force, running at full tilt, that keeps corporate treasurers on their toes.

Priorities under new administration: importance of economic integration, stronger together.

The development bank strengthens its partnerships with businesses and governments across Asia

Katia Bouazza, co-head of global banking, Latin America at HSBC, advocates that LatAm borrowers have demonstrated ever-more prowess while the region’s investors play a larger role in offerings and domestic markets become an important conduit for the global investment community.

With reforms to the EU Emissions Trading System pushing up the cost of CO2 emissions certificates and lowering the future number of allowances, companies with high emissions could benefit from leveraging Commerzbank’s expertise in emissions trading.

The success of BOC International over the past decade is part of an evolving narrative in global banking that is reshaping the world of finance.

Strategic FX management vs operational FX management

It is of no surprise, given the change under way in many corporate business models, that much has been spoken about and written on the emerging digital opportunities that exist for treasuries to reimagine and reinvent how they operate.

Rob Scott, head of custody, collateral & clearing at Commerzbank, explains the importance of data in the digitalization of the post-trade environment and the potential of blockchain and artificial intelligence to transform the customer experience.

Khan Bank is the benchmark for financial stability and innovation in Mongolia. The country’s biggest and best lender has spearheaded technological change for nearly three decades, setting the bar ever higher.

Standard Chartered is sponsoring a series of Euromoney webinars to tackle the latest challenges and opportunities in the global financial markets. Register below to join our next webinar discussion covering global economic growth in 2019.

It is a well-known maxim that regulation and technology are the co-drivers of change in the financial industry.

Sourcing and supply strategies have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years, with companies across industries taking a more strategic approach to procurement in view of shifting ecosystems.

A regularly-tested clear, robust recovery plan is essential if companies are to meet the challenge of an increasing number and variety of cyber threats

Digitization is radically changing the way we communicate, transact and share information, transforming business models and customer expectations. However, underpinning the business models of both the past and future is the processing and financing of trade transactions.

Application programming interfaces enable seamless payments that have helped make apps and banking services so convenient and popular. But banks must now work together to increase standardization and security and to guarantee quality to ensure customers continue to enjoy these benefits.

Standard Chartered is sponsoring a series of Euromoney webinars to tackle the latest challenges and opportunities in the global financial markets. Register below to join our next webinar discussion covering the potential for fintech disruption in securities services.

Standard Chartered is sponsoring a series of Euromoney webinars to tackle the latest challenges and opportunities in the global financial markets. Register below to join our next webinar discussion covering the potential implications of US-China trade war.

Chinese high net-worth individuals no longer consider whether or not they should plan for inheritance. That question is settled. But they still face the question of how they plan for wealth transfer – and which firms they should work with.

CABEI is the regional multilateral financing institution for Central America, with headquarters in Honduras. It is known also by its Spanish acronym BCIE (Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica) and was founded in 1960 by the original five shareholder member countries – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Since 2014, DBS’s transformation has been nothing short of impressive. Nearly every aspect of the way it operates and how it interacts with customers has been digitalized.

As other regional groups have been forced to pull back from Central and Eastern Europe, a strong capital base and long-standing commitment to innovation have allowed OTP Bank to pursue an ambitious expansion and development strategy

Treasurers globally are juggling a broad and growing range of responsibilities, with limited resources and a myriad of technologies and cultural, market and regulatory challenges from all sides. How does the treasurer of today overcome these challenges and identify the innovations that are likely to affect the corporate treasury function in the short and the long runs?

Today’s modern treasurer plays a key role in creating structures and processes that ensure the continued availability of working capital across their supply chains

Financial inclusion enables and empowers people and communities, and can help drive economic growth by bridging economic opportunities and outcomes. Increasing financial inclusion for individuals and small businesses is an objective for policymakers, governments, banks and corporations alike. Payment innovations such as mobile money solutions have proved a catalyst for greater financial inclusion over recent years, but there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution, and challenges and complexities remain. Continued progress in mobile money, and by extension financial inclusion, requires greater cooperation on multiple fronts, involving governments, regulators, telecoms, banks and fintechs.

Bank of China International (BOCI) has launched a China Commodities Index – the first China-focused commodity index launched by an offshore Chinese investment bank

A sustainable global economy starts with individual acts of conscience and responsible corporate citizenship. But taking on the climate and social issues that continue to affect people all over the world requires more. To drive fundamental change, individual action must evolve into institutional transformation – where Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) becomes not simply a moral imperative, but a business imperative as well.

The introduction of new types of money market funds in the European Union may prompt institutional investors to revisit their investment strategy.

Proliferation of bank accounts, unreconciled suspense entries and fragmented liquidity are challenges for both domestic and international corporations. Virtual accounts tied with automated liquidity management structures provide a scalable way for treasurers to automate processes and simplify liquidity management whilst concurrently reducing physical bank accounts and streamlining resourcing.

Standard Chartered Bank are sponsoring a series of Euromoney webinars on DCM & securities services tackling the latest industry challenges. Sign up below.

The influx of new technology is touted as having the possibility of revolutionising how the payments industry operates.

International investors are increasing their exposure to China, our latest survey finds.

Technology has always played a critical role in the evolution of securities services, from streamlining and reducing risk from our processes, to creating new products and generating enhanced value from data.

As the payments landscape changes due to changes in regulation, technology and client behaviour, the treasury function is also undergoing a major shift. While every change presents its share of threats and opportunities, certain points will have long-lasting implications on corporate treasuries around the world.

Chinese regulators have taken major steps to open up the onshore renminbi bond market to foreign investors, including launching the landmark Bond Connect scheme. But many foreign fund managers are still taking a gradual approach to the market, preferring to invest in short-term deals from high-rated issues. This webinar explores the opportunities for foreign investors - and asks when they will make the most of their access to China's bond market.

In this exclusive interview with Samir Assaf, CEO of HSBC Global Banking and Markets, he explains why Vision 2030 is such an important opportunity, both for Saudi Arabia and the international financial community.

CFOs, Treasurers and funding officials need liquid and diversified sources of funding at the best of times, and even more so in a rising interest rate environment. China's bond market, the third largest in the world, has begun opening up to foreign issuers over the past few years. In the coming months, more new issuers are expected to enter the market as they look for funding sources that match their requirements, in a currency that is rapidly internationalizing.

The Belt & Road initiative is proving to be a win-win situation for both China and Africa, creating a foundation for the next level in Sino-African economic ties.

Alternative financing options - particularly those which provide companies with flexible arrangements - are becoming increasingly popular with S&P 500 companies. Next generation technologies are making these financing arrangements ever more possible.

Technology has enabled the movement of funds in secure environments. The speed of transactions has also dramatically increased, reducing down to just a few seconds in some countries and currencies as APIs and real-time systems arrive. But are instant payments always necessary? Is improving the speed and automation of your treasury systems a key part of your strategy? Please complete our short survey to share your views.

As lower interest rates in Brazil have made wealth managers more relevant, the CEO of Consenso — which UBS acquired in 2017 — says that the secret of wealth management goes beyond making big calls on markets.

Receivables are key to keeping a company or institution in business. They are the final step of the cash conversion cycle, closing the gap in the working capital. In other words, receivables are really important for treasurers and yet are often seen as a difficult topic to address.

Over the past decade, many corporates have adjusted their financing strategies as the availability and cost of capital have changed due to a number of factors, including market, regulatory and economic transformations.

Technology may be creeping into every aspect of banking and corporate treasury, but there seems to be a low appetite for working with fintechs and more demand for a focus on traditional banking relationships and business understanding.

Leading Chinese and US investment banks BOC International Holdings Limited (BOCI) and Jefferies LLC have formed a powerful strategic banking alliance that opens a world of new opportunity for investors.

Even by recent standards, 2018 should be quite a year for regulation. Over the course of the coming months, those on the data management frontline will be tasked with ensuring compliance with EU Benchmarks Regulation, MiFID II, FRTB, GDPR or PRIIPs in a cost-efficient way. A challenging undertaking, to be sure. But within even the most arduous of challenges lies opportunity — one only has to know where to look.

Global economic growth momentum strengthened further in 2017 with many economies concurrently sharing in the upswing, and the Eurozone, Japan and emerging markets significantly outperforming expectations in particular.

In the past two years, Standard Chartered has conducted the RMB Investors Forum survey to monitor investor sentiment about China access. This infographic highlights the key results for 2017

It is no secret that cross-border payments have been historically laden with problems of delays and errors, unclear payment status and fees. To address these issues, Swift launched the global payments innovation (GPI) with the goal of significantly improving the customer experience by increasing the speed, transparency and tracking of cross-border payments. This initiative from Swift involves more than 120 key transaction banks from more than 200 countries and territories around the world, and because Swift is where the critical mass of cross-border payments happen, its global payments innovation has been hailed as one of the biggest advancements in international payments in several decades. The initiative is designed to be functional at the short, medium and long terms.

More and more investors are looking favourably on sukuk as an asset class

A new Thomson Reuters report highlights the challenges organizations face as they prepare to meet the complex demands of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II).

Initiated by China, the Belt & Road was to promote free trade and connectivity between Asia, Africa, and Europe via a huge infrastructure investment

Corporate treasury teams should prioritize setting a strategy for using data and digitization to transform how they operate, writes Ron Chakravarti, global head of treasury advisory, Treasury and Trade Solutions, Citi. Meanwhile, Martin Schlageter, head of treasury operations at Roche, explains how digitization is core to shaping what treasury achieves.

In the search for investment yield, one asset class that is expected to grow significantly in the coming years is global local currency bonds, with recent macro conditions set to spur new demand.

Euromoney presents the Hangzhou investment e-book, with an intro by Hangzhou deputy mayor Xie Shuangcheng; containing information on on Hangzhou's digital future, business hubs & help, Hangzhou's location, private investment, talent and tourism.

Global technology companies have changed many industries and banking has not been immune from this digital onslaught. But banks themselves have maintained their central role in a world increasingly dominated by tech companies. The key advantages banks have over technology companies include the solidity of branches, brand loyalty, and national purpose. Banks also have zero tolerance towards failure. Tech companies do many things well, and banks need to learn from them if they are to maintain their central position.

A full quarter has elapsed since Bond Connect was launched, and the mood remains confident.

China is keen on deepening its bond footprint, and the world should take notice.

Penelope Smith, Director, Head of non-German Schuldschein Origination, DCM Loans at Commerzbank, considered the role of this unique private placement instrument in international investors’ portfolios.

This year marks a decisive year in the global economy, and the transaction banking industry that facilitates it. In every region, we have seen how eCommerce, new technology and changing regulations are prompting new business models, faster or real-time payment methods and changing customer expectations, both at a consumer and corporate level. While the underlying trends may be similar, however, the implications for transaction banking in each region are quite different, demanding a multi-faceted approach to address the distinct strategic challenges and opportunities.

Asia’s high-yield bond market has had an impressive year so far – and it’s set to continue.

BNP Paribas, PwC, SAP and the European Association of Corporate Treasurers (EACT) released the second edition of their thought leadership initiative, the Journeys To Treasury (JTT) report at EuroFinance Barcelona on the 4th of October 2017. The first edition of the report, released at EuroFinance Vienna in 2016 made a lasting impression on the corporate treasury community, with more than 1000 downloads across the world and more than 24,000 visits to the report’s website within the first three months of its launch. The 2017 edition of the report has taken the narrative further and discusses some of the most important issues and trends affecting the corporate treasury.

Standard Chartered Bank are sponsoring a series of Euromoney webinars on DCM & securities services tackling the latest industry challenges. Sign up below.

It’s lunchtime in Singapore. And like many people, you feel like going to a food court for some laksa, or mee goreng. Traditionally, you would have to find some money, walk out of the office, join the queue at the stall, pay for the food with your cash, wait to pick it up and then go find a table. It’s a standard process. But DBS has come up with a better way through DBS FasTrack. Now, all you need to do is order on your smartphone, be notified when your food’s ready, walk up to the stall and collect your food. No queue, no wait, and perhaps most importantly, no cash. This is the Uber of lunchtime.

A number of market participants believe that a prominent theme of 2018 may be the accelerated convergence of trading and reporting mechanisms across the global fixed income and equity markets.

Malaysia’s infrastructure financing market is well ahead of many of its peers, proving time and again that it can support greenfield financing when many other countries are still focused on funding pure brownfield projects.

Cyber threats are on the rise and no industry is immune. According to a January 2016 report by Forbes, the global cost of cyber crime will reach $2 trillion by 2019.

Banca March is the only wholly family-owned bank in the Spanish financial sector. More than nine decades of responsible management have positioned us as a leading provider of financial advisory and wealth management services in the Spanish market.

Cyber security is a growing problem as the frequency and diversity of attacks continues to increase. While many attempts are rebuffed by existing defences, the number of successful recent attacks has elevated cyber security to a critical risk that is beginning to feature regularly in C-Suite strategic discussions.

Standard Chartered recently chaired a panel discussion themed Charting The Future Growth Of Risk Management And How To Manage A Longer Custody Chain. Not surprisingly, an area of initial discussion focused on the somewhat complex and convoluted web of intermediaries, technologies, jurisdictions, processes and costs sitting between the beneficial owner or investor and the securities issuer that exist in this cycle.

India has undergone significant structural changes in recent years and it is presently one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

Standard Chartered Bank are sponsoring a series of Euromoney webinars on DCM & securities services tackling the latest industry challenges. Sign up below.

China is taking an increasingly major trading role in global commodities as a vast, untapped investor base within the world’s fastest growing economy emerges. The next five years will see China’s influence on commodities trading rise further, according to the company leading the trend – BOCI

Analysis of headline GDP figures in Africa would presuppose a region going through a period of prolonged stagnation, with growth slowing down to 2.2% in 2016 (1) off the back of falling commodity prices and tighter Chinese economic conditions - but this needs to be put into proper context. Nigeria and South Africa are the two biggest regional economies and the main bulwarks behind the continent’s growth, and both markets have contracted. Slowdowns in these two countries tend to have a disproportionate weighting on the overall region’s growth figures.

Middle class savers are looking for long-term return solutions to insulate their savings but the artificial suppression of interest rates by central banks has constrained their options. Low rates of interest paid on cash deposits held in bank accounts is forcing people to identify new means by which they can grow and complement their existing income and savings.

The latest access channel between the Hong Kong and China financial markets went live on July 3 with the launch of the northbound Bond Connect – connecting international investors with the China Interbank Bond Market (CIBM). Previous China market access platforms – such as Stock Connect – have typically started slowly as investors exercise initial caution, before attracting proper momentum.

China has never been more important to foreign investors and the pace of liberalization in the country’s financial markets continues to accelerate. With MSCI’s inclusion of China A-shares into its emerging markets index and the launch of Bond Connect, we are nearing a critical point in the journey towards the complete opening of China’s financial markets to global investors.

For the second time in a little under two months, an audacious hack of major institutions spanning vast geographies was executed by cyber criminals. Companies operating in around 64 markets were breached as a result of malware, causing enormous cost and delays to their operations.

The sukuk market continues to expand, but some significant challenges remain for both investors and issuers wanting to access the Sharia-compliant market which are arguably holding it back from faster growth.

Chinese real estate firms have been the source of many of Asia’s high yield deals in the past few years. The landscape is changing, however, due to a complex mix of Chinese regulatory efforts to make domestic capital markets more accessible for issuers, prolonged renminbi volatility that has lowered the appeal of dollar funding, and increasingly stringent rules set by China’s National Development and Reform Commission that control offshore issuance by domestic firms. The NDRC recently went as far as naming and shaming issuers circumventing such procedures. At GlobalCapital's roundtable, held in Hong Kong at the end of May, hosted by Standard Chartered, leading market experts discussed the evolution of Greater China high yield, the challenges posed by ever lower yields and what the future drivers of issuance will be at times of rising policy uncertainty.

Standard Chartered Bank are sponsoring a series of Euromoney webinars on DCM & securities services tackling the latest industry challenges. Sign up below.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s detailed transaction cost analysis (TCA) gives clients valuable algo performance insight.

CreditEase wins the best wealth management firm award in the inaugural Asiamoney China awards for the category, an acknowledgement of the firm’s rise from a peer-to-peer lending platform to a pillar of the maturing wealth management sector in China. Asiamoney spoke to Tang Ning, CreditEase founder and CEO, about the firm’s success story.

APAC fund managers are looking to set up UCITS and AIFM products to attract domestic and European investors

The short answer is yes – of course it does. The emerging-market asset class is still small and depends on flow of funds from developed market investors. Moreover, it is non-homogenous and disaggregated, and therefore tends to be a price taker rather than a price setter. This makes the EM asset class dependent on markets that are price setters, such as the US and Europe. In this article, we examine the linkages and dependencies between EM and Europe.

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has seen multiple fund passporting schemes launched in quick succession, but can we tell how well they are likely to fare as they become more established over time?

The importance of emerging markets in the world economy has grown steadily but managing EM currency risk can be a nightmare for the unwary corporate treasurer. By 2014, emerging market economies already accounted for 36% of world GDP and 27% of world trade, yet in the period between 2010 and 2015 there were eight large depreciations of emerging market currencies, according to the International Monetary Fund. Managing the company’s financial interests in these challenging markets has become a top priority for treasurers. Which factors should treasurers look at?

If its second half maintains the pace set to date, 2017 may be a landmark year for bank and insurance capital issuance, with investors showing an appetite for a wide range of credits and willing to go down the credit curve in search of yield.

Standard Chartered Bank are sponsoring a series of Euromoney webinars on DCM & securities services tackling the latest industry challenges. Sign up below.

As one of the fastest growing economies in the G20, Indonesia is on the up. Having taken some difficult decisions after coming to power in 2015, Joko Widodo’s administration is reaping the rewards, with growth accelerating, a budget deficit below 3% and inflation tamed. This benign economic background has helped the Indonesian government become one of the most sophisticated sovereign borrowers in the international market. At GlobalCapital ’s roundtable in Jakarta in early April, hosted by Standard Chartered, leading bankers and issuers explored the impact of reforms to state-owned enterprises, potential US interest rate rises and changes to tax laws on the potential to create a deeper, more effective debt market.

Innovation is on everybody’s mind and many wonder whether it’s actually more than just a buzzword. BNP Paribas’s response is clear and strong: innovation is a continuous journey, it goes beyond technology, is already underway and bringing progress at multiple levels and the Bank is also now working hand in hand with its clients to rock the treasury house. From blockchain-based solutions to SWIFT gpi and Virtual Account Management, the evidence is blooming.

Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) investing is not a temporary trend for fund managers, but a movement that is gaining momentum, and one that could have a significant impact on firms’ operations

Middle Eastern governments and companies rose to the financing challenge set by falling oil prices in 2016, rethinking their operations, cutting costs and turning to the international bond markets in committed fashion to plug funding gaps. Issuers in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries raised $66bn last year, and this year’s first quarter total of nearly $25bn suggests issuance will be similarly high in 2017.  At GlobalCapital’s roundtable in Dubai on March 27, hosted by Standard Chartered, leading participants discussed the steps needed to take the region’s debt capital markets from nascent to mature, to ensure that they can continue to function, whatever happens to the oil price.

Asian green bond initiatives are supporting an unprecedented global surge in issuance, with many markets taking a leaf out of China’s regulator-led book.

The commercials of running an onshore fund product are appealing, and Asia-Pacific managers want to jump in on the action.

Standard Chartered Bank are sponsoring a series of Euromoney webinars on DCM & securities services tackling the latest industry challenges. Sign up below.

Bank of China’s powerful combination of global reach, quality service, and profound local and regional expertise has led to it triumphing as Asia’s most highly ranked cash manager.

In 2016 there was substantial growth in the panda market. New reforms may stimulate activity further in 2017.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regional grouping is one the fastest growth engines in global debt capital markets.

Banks involved in trade should be striving to find a practical solution to today’s challenges while also working towards the ideal of a purely digital future.

Bond issuance volumes have picked up in the early months of this year, as borrowers have capitalized on low volatility and interest rates. Issuance has reached some $950 billion year to date, 5% up on the same period last year. Of particular interest are bonds from Asian high-yield issuers (with credit ratings below BBB or Baa), which account for over $6.2 billion in offshore debt year to date. This is over four times the total amount issued in 2016 whereas the broader high-yield segment rose 66% year on year.

In the world of trading, January 2018 could mark the start of a new era, as a result of the changes that will be introduced by the EU’s revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and accompanying Regulation (together, “MiFID II”). MiFID II aims to build on MiFID I by establishing a more transparent financial system, restoring investor confidence and improving the way capital markets function “to the benefit of the real economy”.

Euromoney and J.P. Morgan conducted a survey of global corporate treasurers to find out what they see as the biggest challenges they currently face, and assess their expectations for 2017. The survey enjoyed an overwhelming response, with more than 230 respondents sharing their thoughts, from over 30 countries.

By Henrik Raber, global head, capital markets, Standard Chartered Bank

The new administration in Washington is pushing a pro-growth agenda, which we expect will further support the recent strength in the US dollar. Comments from the president and senior representatives of the new government have suggested some concern about the dollar’s level. We expect the dollar to remain relatively strong in the coming year, however.

John Laurens leans back in his chair and looks out across the Singapore skyline. “Everything in the world has changed so much over the last 100 years, but there are fundamental aspects of trade finance that remain stubbornly anchored to the past,” he says. “Sure, there are new platforms and technologies but, fundamentally, documentation that is still in use today would be familiar to people in the 19th century.” For some banks and their clients, such familiarity might seem a comfort. But it clearly makes DBS’s head of transaction banking uncomfortable. Innovation for DBS is a matter of survival. And in the world of transaction banking the bank is aiming to be one step ahead of its rivals, two steps ahead of its clients and, as far as possible, in front of the disruption that is coming to this most traditional form of banking.

Many banks pay lip service to innovation, but none has embedded it as deeply into its operations as DBS.

Since the global financial crisis, the banking industry has been confronted with a wave of regulatory changes intended to ensure that the near-meltdown of 2008 is never repeated.

The surprises and uncertainty that characterized 2016 for treasury will continue this year. While some clarifications will materialize, the confluence of traditional and emerging priorities will also challenge decision-making. J.P. Morgan has identified the main areas of focus for treasury professionals below.

The surprises and uncertainty that characterized 2016 for treasury will continue this year. While some clarifications will materialize, the confluence of traditional and emerging priorities will also challenge decision-making. J.P. Morgan has identified the main areas of focus for treasury professionals below, and presents a short survey so you can share your view on how these drivers may impact your business – and to see what other treasurers think. Just submit your answers to proceed through this interactive article.

Greg Pierce, Head of Global Markets in the US, and Hossein Zaimi, Head of Trading, Asia Pacific, HSBC.

Euromoney hosts a number of annual economic and investment forums in tier-two and tier-three cities across China.

Shenyang has a rich cultural history. It is the birthplace of one of China’s greatest imperial dynasties and was the imperial capital during the reign of two emperors. It is considered one of the most important historical and cultural cities in China.

Shenyang and Germany have a close, long-standing and mutually rewarding association. The headline example of this is the highly successful three-plant BMW Brilliance operation in the city, but in fact the connections are deep and widespread.

Shenyang’s economic performance over the past 50 years is well known. But what is it like as a place in which to live?

For an industrial city, Shenyang has substantial environmental ambitions. It is, the city government says, a National Civilized City, a National Environmental Protection Model City, a National Forest City and a National Garden City.

Shenyang is considered the cradle of industry in China, where so many innovations took place as the modern country took shape.

Examining the best options for execution in challenging markets.

The Shenyang Economic Zone is an exercise in the theory that the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.

A key part of the pooling process is the “Collaboration in Action” initiative under the LGPS framework, which sets out a number of targets for reducing costs arising from duplication of functions in areas such as custody, accounting, actuarial and investment consultancy.

As corporate treasures look ahead to 2017, the global outlook remains mixed, yet with positive momentum from gradually improving economic conditions.

Pension plans of many European companies are in crisis. Longer life expectancy entails paying out more in defined benefits, while volatile equity markets and low-yielding bonds have cut deep into investment returns. At the same time, the historically low interest rates and credit spreads result in higher discounted values of pension liabilities. Satu Jaatinen, Global Head of Corporate and Investor Solutions at Commerzbank, examines the strategic options for safeguarding pensions at risk.

The UK’s departure from the European Union will have significant short-, medium- and long-term impacts. Steve Elms, EMEA Head of Corporate and Public Sector Sales, within Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions team, is joined by fellow Treasury and Trade Solutions sector specialists John Murray, Roberto Di Stefano, Peter Cunningham and James Lee to assess the outlook for the airline, automotive, healthcare, and technology, media and telecoms sectors in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave.

Want to sign off corporate payments from your phone while on the beach? Looking for a cheaper offering? Need a bank with a footprint in emerging markets? There are many reasons to change cash management providers, and clients need help coping with these transitions. Société Générale discusses why customers change and what it entails.

Global investors are facing a conundrum; developed market bonds have never been pricier while central bank policy has never been looser. Easy monetary conditions are driving gains in equities and supporting bonds. But with the IIF noting recently that USD $10 tn worth of the world’s (i.e. developed market) government securities are now offering negative rates, the search for yield is becoming more pronounced. In the FX space, this has driven renewed interest in the carry trade. The main beneficiaries have been higher-yielding EM currencies rather than the traditional G-10 high yielders and these currencies may be the most exposed to a Fed-induced correction in the trade.

With evolving corporate buying behaviours as a result of global expansion and shifting of supply chains, banks no longer have the luxury to push products for corporates to adapt to. They now have to offer integrated and flexible solutions that address corporates’ transactional, financial and information needs.

Findings from Greenwich Associates 2015 FX survey

Global banks have been reducing correspondent banking clients, either because they are commercially unviable or they fail today’s higher financial crime-prevention standards. Efforts are now being made to rectify the situation.

The Mexican peso seems to be a currency permanently stuck in a tequila hangover driven by underperformance. It appears to underperform in risk-off periods as well as in risk-on periods. Why is this? Should authorities do more to stabilize the currency?

While banks are still unsure of how the blockchain will affect their businesses, there is a widely held feeling that it has transformational potential. But it is still early days for the technology, and a lot more work must be done developing the blockchain before it will be clear how it can improve the banking industry.

The advent of a global code of conduct for the FX market should bring greater consistency, fairness and transparency to key industry practices.

Diverging monetary policy trends and asymmetric growth prospects suggest that the recent, wide swings in the USDCAD exchange rate are likely to continue in the second half of the year.

Corporates are increasingly embracing bank-agnostic connectivity and other solutions that make communicating with banks more straightforward. Only those banks that show leadership and make the necessary investment in these innovative technologies will prosper in this new era.

Basel III, expected to come into effect by 2019, will have massive implications on the notional cash-pooling business, making it much harder for banks to offer this service profitably. This is likely to force some banks to reconsider the business, either by repricing their offering or by exiting relationships altogether, warns Société Générale.

By joining the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) as a clearing firm, Bank of America Merrill Lynch is able to provide clients with access to higher liquidity, with tighter spreads, than via offshore platforms.

Amid a dynamic and evolving investment banking environment, in which the largest players are struggling, some more nimble operators are bucking the trend and achieving returns on equity comparable to before the financial crisis.

Macroeconomic and geopolitical forces are creating an environment of heightened risks, divergent growth, and tax and regulatory uncertainty for corporates. Here we draw on Citi Treasury Diagnostics, our global treasury benchmarking platform, to reveal the top treasury priorities of leading companies, and share insights into how the corporate treasury can support global business objectives.

With the onset of central clearing and a growing regulatory overhang, market participants are under historic pressure to fully understand the impact of collateral and credit valuation on their portfolios.

Thanks to the strong CLN and credit tranches franchise it has developed with retail and private investors, Societe Generale is able to offer to insurers a competitive range of credit derivative-based products and to design innovative solutions specifically for this client segment, whether for investment or hedging purposes.

CEOs are expected by shareholders and other stakeholders to guide their companies through today’s shifting risk landscape and deliver on financial objectives. Here's how.