A dearth of greenfield infrastructure opportunities combined with unsupportive governments have burst the public-private partnership bubble in western Europe, with deal flow decreasing dramatically from its peak in 2007. Stefanie Linhardt reports on whether this trend will prove to be terminal.
The eurozone sovereign debt crisis has not just affected national treasuries, but also European supranationals and government-related entities. Philip Alexander hears from a range of larger and smaller borrowers across the eurozone and beyond.
In response to the suggestion – put forward by bankers and central bankers in the UK – that a temporary cut in capital adequacy requirements would stimulate new lending and economic growth, The Banker has simulated how a 1% lower Basel requirement might affect various major world economies.
ABN Amro has come a long way since RBS and Fortis, two of the Dutch bank's three owners, faced collapse in 2008. So when the senior unsecured debt market reopened in late September, the bank stepped forward to issue a €500m, two-year floating rate note, securing a good price, as it attempts to re-establish itself on the international market.
The Dutch banking sector has returned to some semblance of normality following the global crisis, with AAA rated Rabobank leading the way and other banks busy rebuilding their reputations. However, fears of a contagion effect from troubled economies in southern Europe, or even a double-dip recession in some of the world's larger economies, are adding caution to any optimism. Writer Michael Imeson
The Dutch financial scene has undergone some fundamental changes in the past few months, including four nationalisations, the reversal of the predator/victim relationship in the Fortis/ABN AMRO takeover and injections of state capital into three other financial institutions. Writer Michael Imeson.