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Northern Rock crisis reveals fissures in oversight structure
The current debacle over Northern Rock is going to lead to a complete rethink on markets and the way they are governed.
Gulf exchange buy-ins must be accepted
As the world enters a new era of diverse wealth distribution, global financial institutions must reflect the change.
Europe’s regulator looks menacing
The European Commission could be just one major event away from toughening its stance on financial regulation, says Robert McLeod.
The Europe 2.0 opportunity
Remaining competitive in the global marketplace requires that Europe lead the second phase of the internet, which will be driven by collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies, says John Chambers.
Main News: Standard Chartered to buy Amex Bank
Emerging markets specialist Standard Chartered has agreed to buy the banking unit of American Express (AEB) for about $860m, gaining branch licences in India and Taiwan and adding wealthy clients to its newly launched private banking operation. The acquisition will also double Standard Chartered’s dollar-clearing business.
Bumper yields in SE Europe
South-east Europe (SEE) is one of Europe’s fastest-growing and most profitable banking regions and looks set for continued strong growth.
COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (CED): REDUCING RISKS FROMGLOBAL IMBALANCES
Committee for Economic Development highlights global imbalances while S&P scrutinises corporate default trends.
Vodka and banking, the perfect cocktail
Roustam Tariko, Russian Standard Bank
Roustam Tariko, owner and founder of Russian Standard Bank (and Vodka), tells Karina Robinson of plans to tailor his banking model to current realities.
A solid stance on risk
In the current market environment, not every bank chief executive feels relaxed talking to the press unless it is part of a public relations strategy to calm frayed nerves among investors. But Stan O’Neal, chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch, was happy to talk to The Banker’s editor Brian Caplen about the volatility in the markets and the firm’s longer-term strategic positioning as well as social issues arising from globalisation, such as inequality.
In search of a single view of risk and return
Risk management in financial institutions should take a single view of risk and return, rather than be fragmented across the organisation. This was the topic of a round table hosted by The Banker in New York last month, and summarised here by Michael Imeson.
The Banker Investment Banking Awards 2007
This year’s Investment Banker Awards come at a tricky time for the industry, when liquidity is scarce and markets are nervy. It is at times like these that banks must show their mettle. The Banker Awards 2007 reward such qualities, and we look back over an impressive year for all of its winners, during which innovation and commitment have driven growth.
INVESTMENT BANK OF THE YEAR/AMERICAS: JPMorgan
Doug Braunstein, JPMorgan
JPMorgan commanded a 7.8% ($3.5bn) share of global investment banking revenues in the first half of the year, according to Dealogic. With companies in the US generating 52% of global investment banking revenues, JPMorgan Americas was again in the driving seat.
INVESTMENT BANK OF THE YEAR/ASIA-PACIFIC: UBS
Rory Tapner, CEO of UBS Group
Whatever hiccoughs UBS may have experienced elsewhere, in the Asia-Pacific region, it is firing on all cylinders.
INVESTMENT BANK OF THE YEAR/EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA: MERRILL LYNCH
Andrea Orcel, Merrill Lynch’s EMEA
In terms of growth momentum, few can match Merrill Lynch in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Revenues for the region rose by 46% during 2006, building on a 40% increase the year before.
INVESTMENT GRADE BOND HOUSE OF THE YEAR: BARCLAYS CAPITAL
Geert Vinken, global head of syndicate at BarCap
Barclays Capital has long had a fantastic investment grade bond platform in Europe, but it is The Banker’s Investment Grade Bond House of the Year in recognition of its impressive growth outside of its European heartland.
COVERED BONDS HOUSE OF THE YEAR: BARCLAYS CAPITAL
Ted Lord, BarCap
Barclays Capital is The Banker’s Covered Bonds House of the Year for the second year running because it remains the leader in bringing first-time issuers to market and paves the way into new regions.
CONVERTIBLES HOUSE OF THE YEAR: CREDIT SUISSE
Frank Heitmann, head of European convertible origination
Credit Suisse’s convertibles platform is firing on all cylinders. This is illustrated by last year’s Greenwich Survey, in which the bank’s convertibles sales and trading team was ranked first for overall quality, trading capability and salesforce capability.
HIGH YIELD BOND HOUSE OF THE YEAR: CREDIT SUISSE
Matthew Cestar, global head of European high yield capital markets
In high yield capital markets, Credit Suisse is everywhere, and many of its mandates underscore both the power of the franchise and the depth of its client relationships.
M&A HOUSE OF THE YEAR: GOLDMAN SACHS
In the first six months of the year, Goldman Sachs has been involved in all of the top five transactions, advised on the most significant going-private transactions of the year to date, played a role in some of the most complex cross-border transactions and defended against a whole host of unsolicited M&A bids. Up against some stiff competition, Goldman retains The Banker’s M&A crown for the second year running.
IPO HOUSE OF THE YEAR: UBS
Matthew Koder, ECM
UBS is a worthy winner of The Banker’s IPO House of the Year Award. In the 12-month awards period, it has executed the most IPOs in terms of the number of issues and captured 9.9% of the global IPO market with the highest value of IPOs executed. Moreover, it is the only bank to be in the top two ranking in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and EMEA.
EQUITY TRADING HOUSE OF THE YEAR: UBS
John Wall, global head of equities
UBS takes its prowess in equity trading very seriously. With an average increase of 33% a year on equity IT development spend, it is determined to be a market leader in client connectivity and market access.
BOND TRADING HOUSE OF THE YEAR: JPMORGAN
Guy America, EMEA
JPMorgan is The Banker’s Bond Trading House of the Year for the second consecutive year. It is a consistent top-tier player across every aspect of the fixed income trading business and in every geography.
EQUITY DERIVATIVES HOUSE OF THE YEAR: SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE
Christophe Mianné, Société Générale
Awards might be crowding Société Générale’s equity derivatives offices but the bank has not lost the appetite for them.
LEVERAGED FINANCE HOUSE OF THE YEAR: CREDIT SUISSE
Jim Amine, Credit Suisse
There could be only one choice for The Banker’s Leveraged Finance award. Credit Suisse is top of the league tables in just about every leveraged finance product and has been involved in most of the industry’s landmark deals.
CREDIT DERIVATIVES HOUSE OF THE YEAR: DEUTSCHE BANK
Derek Smith, Deutsche Bank
With revenues up by almost 50% year on year, it is clear that Deutsche Bank’s credit markets franchise continues to be a dominant one in the industry.
HYBRID CAPITAL HOUSE OF THE YEAR: MERRILL LYNCH
Jill Schildkraut-Katz, Merrill Lynch
For the second year running, Merrill Lynch is our Hybrid Capital House of the Year. Against growing competition from other houses, Merrill has continued to bring new structures to market, create market standards, enhance existing features, expand the investor base and tailor ingenious solutions to individual objectives.
RISK ADVISORY HOUSE OF THE YEAR: DEUTSCHE BANK
Rich Herman, Deutsche Bank
Risk advisory is a discipline containing many moving parts. It demands excellence across a whole host of products and being at the forefront of regulatory change and market trends. Deutsche Bank has such a platform.
FIG CAPITAL RAISING HOUSE OF THE YEAR: JPMORGAN
David Marks, JPMorgan
JPMorgan occupies a consistently dominant position in capital raising for the financial institutions group (FIG). According to Ina De, co-head of ECM origination, it is the bank’s model of seamless connectivity between origination, syndicate, trading and distribution that differentiates JPMorgan’s offering from its competitors.
FIG ALM HOUSE OF THE YEAR: SOCIÉTÉ GÉNÉRALE
Emmanuel Goudouneix, Société Générale
Mathematical talent has traditionally served French banks well, and Société Générale’s asset liability management (ALM) team is no exception.
TRADE & PROJECT FINANCE HOUSE OF THE YEAR: ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND
Thomas Hardy, Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has once again demonstrated its indisputable leadership in trade and project finance. The bank won the most substantial deals in 2006 and the first half of this year.
REAL ESTATE FINANCE HOUSE OF THE YEAR: CITI
Marcus Giancaterino, Citi
In real estate finance, Citi is at the forefront of designing and selling new and innovative products and tailoring financing solutions for clients.
ISLAMIC INVESTMENT BANKING HOUSE OF THE YEAR: CIMB ISLAMIC
CEO Badlisyah Abdul Ghani
Confirming last year’s success, CIMB Islamic is again the winner of The Banker’s Islamic Investment Banking award. Against stiff competition from larger international players, CIMB has climbed the league tables for both domestic sukuk and global sukuk issuances.
FX HOUSE OF THE YEAR: DEUTSCHE BANK
Zar Amrolia, Deutsche Bank
FX House of the Year is one of the most competitive classes in The Banker Awards. The incredible levels of liquidity, service and innovation that the top four players provide can be difficult to differentiate. But by maintaining market share against ever more aggressive competition and continuing to add functionality and innovative new products for clients, Deutsche Bank edged away from the pack and took the crown.
INTEREST RATE DERIVATIVES HOUSE OF THE YEAR: HSBC
Paul Baldwin, HSBC
This year’s Interest Rate Derivatives House of the Year is HSBC, in recognition of its pioneering role in many emerging markets and its leadership in asset and liability management hedging products in the developed markets.
LOANS HOUSE OF THE YEAR: JPMORGAN
Kristian Orssten, EMEA
With about 15% share of the syndicated loan market in the first half of this year, it is clear that JPMorgan has a dominant franchise.
PRIME BROKERAGE HOUSE OF THE YEAR: BARCLAYS CAPITAL
Alasdair Hodge, BarCap
This year’s Prime Brokerage award goes to Barclays Capital in recognition of its rapid growth, continued innovation and commitment to developing a truly multi-asset class platform.
SECURITISATION HOUSE OF THE YEAR: LEHMAN BROTHERS
Amany Attia, Lehman Brothers
It is a difficult time for the securitisation business. As the subprime woes have undermined confidence in what has long been a well-accepted and well-used technology, it is clear that there is going to be a period of greater conservatism in terms of the sorts of structures and assets that are attractive to investors.
EMISSIONS TRADING HOUSE OF THE YEAR: BARCLAYS CAPITAL
Louis Redshaw, Barclays Capital
Barclays Capital, The Banker’s Emissions Trading House of the Year, has been at the forefront of emissions trading since the EU established its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2005, and has built its platform on a broad commodities franchise.
COMMODITIES TRADING HOUSE OF THE YEAR: DEUTSCHE BANK
David Silbert, Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank may not have the biggest commodities franchise in the business but its trading business is the most dynamic, with an incredible strength in product innovation and cross-divisional derivatives expertise.
Philippe El-Asmar
Barclays Capital’s head of investor solutions, Americas, tells Kathryn Tully how he successfully built a team from scratch to develop tailored structured products across all asset classes as well as equity and fund derivatives solutions.
Arrangers of a complex marriage
Dresdner Kleinwort is ahead of the advisory pack in terms of deal value in European electricity mergers and acquisitions this year. The bank’s utilities and natural resources team talk to Edward Russell-Walling about their recent success in one of the most difficult deals in cross-border history, Enel’s takeover of Endesa.
NIB excites feeding frenzy
Kari Kukka, Nordic Investment Bank (NIB)
Nordic Investment Bank is demonstrating that it is a quality AAA name with its search for funding diversity leading it to success in international pastures, and hungry bankers knocking on its door begging for short-term paper. Edward Russell-Walling reports.
Rationale rests with subprime borrowers
It is easy to be wise with hindsight, but it is all rather obvious now that off-balance sheet vehicles work fine when they are being used for authentic assets that banks really wanted to generate but have decided, for balance sheet management reasons, would be better securitised.
Half a venture is better than none
The noughties are definitely becoming the age of the joint venture. At one time, banks only took a percentage stake if legislation prevented them from taking more, and large banks definitely did not do joint ventures because they had the clout to own 100%. But now, CEOs who 10 years ago would have been strict control freaks are entertaining the idea of having half of something if it is the only sensible way to get it.
Daiwa heads for Japanese diaspora
Between 40 and 50 Daiwa executives in Tokyo are going to discover this month that they are bound for pastures new, maybe other parts of Asia or maybe London.
New risk solutions put to the test
Chris Arnold, Allen & Overy’s
Counterparty credit risk has been one of the fastest growing exposures on derivatives dealers’ books in the last several years. Natasha de Terán explores how they have been managing this risk amid the mounting market turmoil.
Globalisation shapes payments industry
Ian Johnston, head of Asia-Pacific at SWIFT
Today’s payments landscape is fragmented with disparate mechanisms applied in different regions and countries. Alan Duerden considers which region will emerge as the global leader in the payments space.
Integration remains elusive
Andrew Muir, Securities Market Reform Group at Swift
More than a year after the Giovannini Group’s original deadline for removal of all 15 barriers to the creation of an integrated clearing and settlement system for European securities trades, only one barrier has been fully removed. Frances Maguire reports on the delay.
Relationship management at heart of Swift’s new structure
Lázaro Campos, Swift’s new CEO
Swift’s new CEO, Lázaro Campos, talks to Frances Maguire about his plans for Swift in the immediate future and beyond, including regionalisation, courting US institutions and working on the integration of portals.
Dutch banking through the mill
Floris Deckers, F. van Lanschot Bankiers
The feeding frenzy surrounding ABN AMRO is a harbinger for a restructuring of the entire Netherlands’ banking sector. Nick Kochan explains.
Securitisation crisis claims casualties
Several financial institutions are on the brink of the abyss caused by the temporary closure of the asset-backed securities markets. Professor Jan Pieter Krahnen reports on the crisis and its first victims.
Banking sector holds strong amid BCP storm
Paulo Teixeira Pinto, BCP
The media coverage given to the tussle at the top of Millennium BCP risks deflecting attention away from the positive evolution of Portuguese banking, says Peter Wise .
Tiny country bridges gap
Gordana Djurovic, deputy prime minister and minister for European integration
Despite its small size, Montenegro is attracting investors with its stable business and banking environment, and looks firmly set on the path to EU membership. Justin Keay reports.
Cars drive moves into Russian loan sector
Ben Aris reports from Moscow on the new trend of carmakers setting up shop with banking licences in Russia to take advantage of the accelerating growth in the auto loans market.
New champions, fresh insights
Debate on China’s future was fierce at the inaugural summer event of the World Economic Forum held in the Chinese city of Dalian. Stephen Timewell reports.
Lenders on the up as property market booms
An unprecedented array of mortgage products is putting home purchases within reach of lower-income Filipinos – and helping banks achieve their best loan growth in a decade. Ian Gill reports from Manila.
Getting on with the job
Despite a recent lending crisis, Taiwan has quietly assumed an enviable position in global finance, with ever closer economic ties to China. Brian Caplen reports.
Andean roulette
Rafael Correa, the leftist President
Ecuador’s bankers insist the president’s high stakes political strategy, which has included singling them out as public enemies, is ruining the economy. John Rumsey reports.
Pension fund liberation to boost nascent sector
A relaxation of pension funds allocation rules in Latin America will hugely benefit regional private equity investment – but governments must keep better tallies of inflows, says Jason Mitchell in Buenos Aires.
Brazil shows its strengths
Brazil’s banks dominate the listing with their healthy assets and profitability, and Mexico also does well.
Far-flung expansion
Jacko Maree, Standard Bank Group
Jacko Maree, CEO of Standard Bank Group, tells The Banker about the strategy that is leading it to expand into markets well beyond its South African home base.
Cairo’s oasis of orderly conduct
Maged Shawky Sourial, The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE)
Aided by expertise learnt in the US, those in charge of the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange have constructed a highly efficient operation, says Silvia Pavoni .
Financing infrastructure in Africa: scope and opportunities
$40bn is needed over five years to finance infrastructure and sustain growth rates in Africa.
With regulation comes opportunity
Charles Phillips, Oracle Corporation
Providing financial services firms with the systems maintenance support to cope with the demands of regulation is one of the many areas in which Oracle has proved itself a global leader. Alan Duerden reports.
Natives vs aliens
Meet the digital natives and understand why you can never become one of them (disclaimer: reading this might make you feel old, stupid or both). By Ola Ahlvarsson .
Sheep herding
Are the ‘irrational’ clients of Northern Rock the kind of customers rival banks should be opening their arms to, asks Joe DiVanna.
Rob Close
The CEO of CLS Bank International details the technological challenges of keeping pace with the fast-changing dynamics of FX settlement. Alan Duerden reports.
CIOs on the back foot over handheld device security
Chris Mayers, Citrix’s principle security architect
Companies should be worried about the very real threat of security breaches in the mobile device space and ensure that effective counter measures are put in place. Alan Duerden explains.
Subprimers’ short memories
The lessons of the losses experienced by Lloyd’s of London in the 1980s were overlooked by banks embroiled in the subprime crisis, who recklessly issued vast amounts of collateralised debt obligations. By Chris Skinner.
Ucits Directive enters the fourth dimension
The EU directive on retail investment funds is being revised – yet again – but the proposals are flawed, writes Michael Imeson.
Will cash be king again?
Tim Scholefield, Barings
The US subprime crisis ended one of the biggest bull markets to date but will it cause corporates to revert back to cash? Frances Maguire reports.
The third way
Colin Digby
When it comes to payment infrastructure, it is no longer just a case of build versus buy. Partnering becomes an increasingly attractive alternative presenting tremendous value for financial institutions, says Colin Digby.
A new dawn for online services
Ian Holden-Semple, ABN AMRO
In an age when many people travel for work and leisure, demand is high for 24-hour banking services that are accessible across the world.
A new browser-based tool could fit the bill, offering clients round-the-clock online access to real-time information.
Sepa is not final word on liquidity
Lisa Rossi, Deutsche Bank
Having fewer bank accounts in Europe post-Sepa will enable corporates to pool funds more effectively but, as Frances Maguire reports, liquidity management solutions will still be needed.
The power of partnerships
Paul Galant
Strategic partnerships with indirect competitors will be a powerful differentiator for those banks that choose to embrace this concept. By Paul Galant.
A winning combination
Sam Knowles, Kiwibank
New Zealand’s Kiwibank has collaborated with Citi’s Global Transaction Services to create winning synergies and prove that the whole really can be greater than the sum of the parts. By Michael Imeson.
Infrastructure synergy
Richard R Macek, EuroCCP
Citi’s Global Transaction Services is working closely with pan-European clearing and settlement providers, payments processors as well as payments networks. By Heather McKenzie.
New adventures in symbiosis
Nick Hughes, Vodafone
Its ambitions in the mobile remittances space have led Vodafone to partner with Citi to extend the service beyond Kenya to provide international person-to-person mobile payments. By Heather McKenzie.
