After years of retrenchment, Commerzbank’s head of corporate clients Michael Kotzbauer tells Euromoney of a tentative return to growth. The bank has dodged Germany’s commercial real estate slump but is having to adapt to a worsening geopolitical backdrop. Capital and cost efficiency remain big priorities.

For the US to come out in support of voluntary carbon markets even while arguing for their reform is an important step in the drive to seek better standards for what are vital – albeit flawed – mechanisms. But more guidelines on how to certify and trade offsets are no substitute for the real thing.

Rising confidence in European banks has raised hopes of a surge in domestic M&A, perhaps laying the foundations for the long-sought ideal of genuinely pan-European firms.

Hefty convertible bond sales by the likes of Chinese firms Lenovo and Alibaba, plus renewed interest in issuance from corporate Japan, have the market chattering. Is the market here to stay in Asia, or could a single soggy offering cause it to slam shut again?

Does the high number of drawn-out insolvency cases in the UK suggest a failure of regulation?

John Mathews, head of UHNW Americas for UBS in New York, tells Euromoney why the US’s private banking model is so successful, why the Swiss firm is really in the life counselling business, and explains why it has targeted US ultra-high net worth clients.

As securities markets shift to T+1, repo is already going intraday with DLR the first of what may be many digital trading platforms to offer JPM Coin for the cash leg.

By starting from a blank sheet of paper, Royal Bank of Canada hopes its new US cash-management platform will allow it to capture a greater share of wallet from existing clients while not being held back by legacy technology.

Corporate treasurers are playing it safe when balancing the merits of exploiting improved access to capital against the risk of unexpected economic shocks and business interruption.

Though HSBC retrenched from other Latin American markets, it stayed in Mexico, and country chief Jorge Arce says that the bank is well-positioned to take advantage of the nation’s unique blend of structural growth drivers.

Financial markets reacted calmly to news of an early UK election, expecting whoever wins to stick to the fiscal rules. But whoever wins must also cope with rising debts and onerous interest payments.

President Macron’s newfound zeal for cross-border financial M&A is creating a headache for France’s big banks.

The prospect of interest rate cuts from the Fed in 2024 is disappearing. Japan and Korea are among those feeling the heat.

Will increased transparency in the European corporate bond market lead to higher transaction costs for large trades?

The bank is looking to capitalise on its local presence in Latin America as Korean and Chinese firms intensify their nearshoring efforts.

Unlike other firms in Latin America, BTG Pactual hides its growing retail digital banking business within its wealth-management division. Why?

Anything except a brief stay on as chairman would cast a baleful shadow over the chief executive’s successor at JPMorgan.

In an interview with Euromoney, European Banking Authority chair José Manuel Campa joins the European Central Bank and others in pressuring banks to do more to prepare for geopolitical risks spreading from Russia to China, the US and Middle East.

Rumours that Chinese insurer Ping An could cut its stake in HSBC further, perhaps selling to a Middle East buyer at a time when Gulf investment is flooding into the People’s Republic, should not come as a surprise.

The latest in a string of big appointments at debt capital markets-focused fintech NowCM is a reflection of how the firm must increasingly institutionalize itself as it grows. Markus Sauerland tells Euromoney why change is so difficult in the financial world.

Banks and regulators are keen to use instant payments to reduce the influence of Visa and Mastercard on the European payments industry – but replacing these two dominant players will be far from easy.

Some companies overhype their eco-credentials, while others hide theirs. Banks are navigating this complex landscape to capitalize on surging demand for sustainable investment.

Although the relative health of some nationalized banks may facilitate their privatization, major obstacles to any sales remain.

Naz Vahid is to leave Citi after nearly four decades as one of the US bank’s most effective and innovative wealth managers.

Blurring the lines in foreign exchange between automation, traditional AI and generative AI runs the risk of undermining trading services by setting unrealistic expectations.

It is all about staging when performance is in question.

Thailand is enduring a record heatwave, yet its economy is in the deep freeze. Prime minister Srettha Thavisin is frantically jetting around the world trying to woo global corporates and investors, so far to little avail.

Some takeovers take time.

Chief financial officers and finance directors have much to gain from bundling treasury services if they can convince senior management that such offerings deliver value for money.

New accounts targeted at low-income customers reflects the reality of intense competition in the sector.