Wall Street bankers tempted to pick a fight with the Federal Reserve should take a lesson from the insider trading plea deal by investor Joe Lewis.

Opposition to the proposed Basel III endgame for US banks is now so widespread that a climb down by the Federal Reserve is likely. Wall Street bankers like Jamie Dimon can stop crying wolf about increased capital requirements and think carefully about publicly threatening their regulators.

The midcap broker needs new business lines to survive a prolonged IPO drought.

Some banks like the idea of external venture capitalists leading their venture businesses, but banker-led units are more likely to cement their inherent advantage.

Appealing to issuers by removing investor protections makes no sense when London’s decline as a listing venue stems from domestic investors abandoning the UK market.

Regulators are making more mileage out of their settlement with Morgan Stanley than the outcome really deserves.

The World Bank is issuing ‘outcomes’ bond structures for niche sustainability themes and with new financing mechanisms. Like blue bonds, they are probably going to need some rule-setting.

New entrants spur breadth and depth in the country’s capital markets.

The global clubs charged with defining what pace of transition is both scientifically and politically acceptable are only as good-willed as their members.

The cost to the government of supporting the Mexican oil firm’s debt could rise to 1.5% of GDP in 2025. Could it walk away?

The annual Senate quizzing of US big bank chief executives threw up all the usual favourite partisan arguments, but little else. If this is oversight, it often lacks insight.

Failure to mobilize the finance needed to meet the Paris Agreement will be devastating. As those flows to overleveraged countries and companies now stall, radical steps are needed.

Restrictions may come at a cost as MSCI considers developed market status.

At the start of 2023, analysts sized China and liked what they saw: an economy reopening after three years of Covid isolation, and ready once again to roar. Nothing of the sort has happened and corporates and institutional investors are now fleeing the market in droves.

Barclays hopes to win over investors with new return targets and buyback commitments next February, but it really needs a revival in investment banking.

Regulators are starting to take a more messaging-based approach to sustainable finance, but stopping greenwashing won’t automatically lead to a transition to net zero.

The Signa Group of companies is complex, but its problems are simple: debt service costs are going up while property values are going down.

As the Chinese property crisis deepens, a new round of bank-led rescue efforts is on the horizon. While banks must shoulder part of the blame for the crisis, their options for action are limited.

Thailand wants to give almost every adult in the country money through a digital wallet. It’s an interesting step towards bringing digital finance to the mainstream.

The bank must broaden its horizons if performance is to improve.

The travails of Zhongzhi, a key player in China’s poorly regulated $3 trillion shadow financing market, underline why a future crisis in the country is more likely, not less.

Instead of boasting about the billions extracted from the crypto exchange, the US Departments of Justice and Treasury should have closed it down.

November/December 2023

November/December 2023

Execution is key to Fraser’s grand plan.

Enel could trigger the largest step-up event in the sustainability-linked bond market if it misses its CO₂ emissions targets at the end of this year. How the market reacts will set the tone for the future of these instruments.

The Swedish regulator digs deep into background of prospective senior managers.

The great and the good have assembled again for the Global Financial Leaders investment summit in Hong Kong.

Climate change is real and so are the EU’s disclosure rules.

Our resident seer hears Ted Pick say don’t worry about the $20 million Morgan Stanley loyalty bonuses.