Improved risk appetite allowed peripheral sovereigns and banks, together with high yield corporates at the lower end of the credit spectrum, to reaccess the market at the start of 2013, as investors seek new frontiers for higher yield.
Western Europe
Latest articles from Western Europe
Will sovereigns regulate their own ratings?
February 25, 2013The eurozone crisis has precipitated intense scrutiny of the sovereign credit rating process, but the sovereigns themselves are hardly impartial judges.
DenizBank exports its IT expertise
February 25, 2013DenizBank's modern, nimble IT system has a series of admirers in the banking world, and includes none other than Bill Gates among those who it has impressed. The bank's chief operating officer tells The Banker how DenizBank is now ready to take its IT knowhow to a wider international audience.
World
/ Western Europe
/ Italy
Don't take revenge on the raters for sovereign downgrades
February 25, 2013Sovereigns taking action against rating agencies are aiming at the wrong target.
Banks to watch in 2013, Fidor Bank
February 1, 2013The Banker has identified 13 banks to keep an eye on in the coming year based on a variety of factors. German-based Fidor Bank has been selected for its forward-thinking business model, which is based on Web 2.0 and social media, e-commerce, games and mobile internet.
Banks to watch in 2013, Odea Bank
February 1, 2013The Banker has identified 13 banks to keep an eye on in the coming year based on a variety of factors. A new entrant to the Turkish market Odea Bank – a subsidiary of Lebanon’s Bank Audi – has set an ambitious target to become one of the top 15 banks in Turkey by the end of 2017, making it one to watch over the next few years.
World
/ Western Europe
/ UK
Banks to watch in 2013, Silicon Valley Bank
February 1, 2013The Banker has identified 13 banks to keep an eye on in the coming year based on a variety of factors. US-based Silicon Valley Bank's launch of its full-service bank in London, targeting what it calls innovation companies, makes it one to watch.
MasterCard makes innovation pay
February 1, 2013The breadth of MasterCard's portfolio of payment solutions would have been unimaginable when the president of global technology and operations at MasterCard Technologies, Robert Reeg, started his career, but with 85% of global transactions still in cash, he explains the importance of pressing ahead with yet more innovation.
World
/ Western Europe
/ UK
Terra Firma housing deal on solid ground
February 1, 2013In difficult market conditions with a heavy existing debt burden, Annington Homes was still able to issue the largest ever debut high-yield bond in the UK.
Europe issues hang heavy over Sweden's finance minister
February 1, 2013It may not be part of the struggling eurozone but Sweden is suffering its very own Europe-related problems. Its finance minister, Anders Borg, tells The Banker why he does not want the UK to leave the EU, what difficulties could be posed by the formation of a banking union and where the responsibility for bailing out banks should lie.