We are at the peak of the hype cycle for central bank digital currencies, now being touted as one of the most fundamental innovations in the history of central banking. It is time for central banks and governments to be honest with unenthused populations. CBDC can’t deliver all the many promised improvements. As we come to design choices, there will be trade-offs. We might get improved payments but less credit. We could see greater financial inclusion but will lose privacy. Are the few benefits really worth the risk of disrupting the financial system?

Buying robo-adviser Nutmeg is a bold and telling first step for the US bank’s new digital banking venture in the UK.

HSBC’s new global wallet offering is the latest in a line of services enabling businesses to make and receive international payments from a single account.

Since Jes Staley took charge of Barclays at the end of 2015, he has faced constant questions over his ability to reposition the firm as a credible force in investment banking. Sticking to his guns in the face of activist shareholder pressure, he now looks vindicated, but growing from here presents a new challenge.

Corporate insolvencies are poised to rise sharply once pandemic-related state support is removed. In the UK, companies must familiarize themselves with new insolvency regulations as the deadline for the removal of protections looms.

Other funds have shown how shareholder activism can work in financial stocks, especially in Europe.

The implosion of Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management focused attention on family offices, a fast-growing, lightly regulated and ill-defined investor group. Greater oversight is surely inevitable, as is the evolution of the sector away from small, standalone entities into truly global multi-family wealth managers.

Regulators have set high conduct standards for banks in assisting particularly smaller corporate customers with the impact of the transition away from Libor.

Fnality applies for a DLT-based sterling payment system pointing the way to faster and more resilient decentralized financial market infrastructure.

In just a few days, Deliveroo’s IPO went from having a book that was oversubscribed at the top of the price range to pricing at the bottom and then collapsing in the aftermarket. What went wrong and does it mean anything for other London listing candidates?

As US Spac deals start to slow after an extraordinary first quarter, any new growth must come from outside the US

Analysts are positive about sterling’s prospects over the next few months, figuring that monetary policy flexibility and attractive UK equity prices will outweigh any downward pressure from the European Union – whether trade or coronavirus-related.

With monetary union off the table, a national break-up could make Brexit seem like a skirmish.

António Horta-Osório makes no apology for the unbridled optimism that has defined his 10 years running Lloyds Banking Group. Critics say he leaves it over-exposed to Brexit and dwindling interest margins. But, as he prepares to move to Switzerland to become chairman of Credit Suisse, Horta-Osório tells Euromoney that Lloyds’ greatest days could still be ahead of it.

The food delivery firm is redefining order flow.

The data-cloud company has laid down an intriguing marker for its peers

Deliveroo’s pending stock sale gives London a much-needed financial boost, but the global IPO market is becoming a straight fight between China and the US.

Jonathan Hill’s recommendations for UK listing reforms have dug deep into areas at the forefront of capital markets debate in 2021. Here we assess what he has to say.

In making his long-awaited recommendations on how to improve London’s standing as a venue for raising capital, Jonathan Hill faced the challenge of how to reform while not racing to the bottom.

The link between share ownership and voting rights has been weakening for a long time. With dual-class share structures more popular than ever, is the struggle to resist their rise now over?

London is, unsurprisingly, struggling to embrace Brexit. Its advocates say the City just needs to try harder.

The FTSE250 company launches an open pre-emptive share offer underwritten by a concert party of wealthy individuals to appease creditors in its pub securitization.

The chief executive of a leading mid-market London broker reckons there are more funding opportunities than ever for small and medium-sized UK firms, in spite of the pandemic. But she still wants changes to London’s listing rules.

The Bank of England’s latest FX trading survey shows how sterling trading exploded in October amid the twin pressures of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK has been hit by Brexit as well as the pandemic, making for poor returns and a weaker recovery. UBS argues that this allows investors to buy while it is cheap.

UK-based banks will continue to lose out and international banks in London will transfer more staff and capital to the EU.

The fintech’s fast growth highlights the large banks’ inability to adapt their technology to provide basic finance to small businesses.

Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey rejects the unsound decisions of the EU.

Capital is already shifting out of the UK and people will follow, leaving the big Brexit question: can the EU take advantage to complete its capital markets union?

Asset managers and owners are scrutinizing firms’ climate commitments like never before, as HSBC is discovering.