He studies synthetic biology, develops mobile games for emerging markets with a member of pop group Black Eyed Peas, is an advisory member of NASA’s Ames research centre and serves as counsel to the University of California in his free time. By day, he is chief technology officer for Citi Transaction Services. Meet Antonio Benjamin.

A sovereign bond issue by Rwanda took the capital markets into uncharted territory, but the syndicate team at BNP Paribas found investors keen to seize the opportunity to diversify their portfolios.

Turkey is a relatively new market for sukuk issuance compared with Malaysia and the Middle East, but its Islamic banks are now at the forefront of subordinated sukuk structures, led by Albaraka Turk and its innovative murabaha issue.

When Bank of America-Merrill Lynch hired Alexander Wilmot-Sitwell from UBS last year to front its Europe and emerging markets (excluding Asia) operations, it caused a stir. As he explains to The Banker, the move has been mutually beneficial.

UBS undertook one of the more radical post-crisis changes of strategy in 2012, and its head of European advisory, James Hartop, explains how the new structure enables his team to move beyond pure merger and acquisition work.

Growing risk appetite and low interest rates have ushered in a revival of the market for corporate hybrid bonds in Europe since the start of 2013, with Citi's new products team participating in many of the recent issues.

UK utilities operator National Grid made a highly successful debut in the hybrid market to finance large investment needs without jeopardising its credit ratings.

Trinidad and Tobago’s central bank governor discusses the population’s low financial literacy, movement in the country’s financial sector and the plans to stimulate the country’s stock exchange. 

Jamaica has turned a corner since its recession in 2010, say finance minister Peter Phillips and central bank governor Brian Wynter, thanks in no small part to its plans to restructure the country’s public debt and attract more cross-border investment.