Western Europe

Rob Karofsky will become sole president of the investment bank at UBS, ending his ‘odd couple’ partnership with co-president Piero Novelli.

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.

Mid-market specialist DC Advisory has come a long way since its days as a unit of Close Brothers. UK chief executive Richard Madden reckons its acquisition by Daiwa and subsequent build-out of a more coherent international franchise has stood it in good stead.

The sponsors of a new special purpose acquisition company aimed at European financial services argue that the region is ripe for the kind of patient capital that the structure can provide.

Investment grade and non-sterling bond investors submitted big orders for the largest ever European high-yield deal, but half received zero allocation.

As the unlisted firm shrinks further in investment banking, its asset management business might IPO on its own.

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.

Banks are guiding to lower cost of risk in 2021, but government support and forbearance make the true state of their loan books hard to discern.

A primarily national approach to post-Covid bad debt has cut adrift states such as Greece and Portugal, making future banking crises more likely.

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

Anchor investors usually come into a Spac through a pre-merger Pipe deal. But the latest Europe-focused vehicle has brought them in from the very start.

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

The consummate dealmaker appeals to shareholders and the board, by being an Italian with a big international profile.

The ECB is desperate for banking consolidation. Cross-border deals remain unlikely, but wholesale combinations may be coming.

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

Less pain in the downturn means less gain in an upturn.

An abundance of low-cost finance and soaring stock market valuations are driving M&A towards record levels. But as M&A fever spreads, so riskier deals based on more dubious logic are appearing.

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?

The pan-European payments initiative benefits from links to many of Europe’s largest banks – and has fintech in its sights.

The latest move by an asset class that just can’t keep out of the news is less surprising than it might appear.

European bank shares have rallied even though the pain of loan losses still lies ahead. It is also not clear how they will repay emergency ECB funding

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

UK bank urged to set timeline for fossil-fuel financing phase-out.

SocGen appears willing to accept lower volumes as the price for avoiding losses of the kind it experienced in 2020.

With investment in technology supporting its Crédit du Nord merger, the bank hopes that product partnerships and a lower cost-to-serve will make it stand out in French retail.

In rushing to oust chief executive Jean Pierre Mustier halfway through the reporting cycle, UniCredit’s board may have revealed its weaknesses, not its strength.