Latest articles from Comment

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Bibby Financial takes the securitisation route to new financing

January 4, 2016

With the cost of bank financing growing, the UK's Bibby Financial Services was left with two choices: become a bank or securitise its debt. It chose the latter, and the results so far have been encouraging.

A 90-year search for the right model

January 4, 2016

Technology and markets may change, but the model for sound banking is still based on the same tenets as when our magazine was founded.

Capital markets union – a quick fix to Europe’s growth problems?

January 4, 2016

Strengthening EU equity and venture capital markets is a valuable idea, but its success will still depend on a change in investor attitudes and a reduction of sovereign risks.

The waterfall effect: technology takes time to hit the ground

January 1, 2016

Layers of resistance, from hard-to-update legacy systems to hard-to-break user habits, make the timeline for seeing a new technological innovation hit the mainstream surprisingly long. 

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An end to the analogue age

December 1, 2015

With a global majority preferring digital access to banking, the cost of serving a dwindling number of customers through expensive analogue channels is growing, something that will eventually lead to banks disposing of these channels altogether.

Co-operation is key for resolution regimes

November 23, 2015

The Financial Stability Board has worked hard to complete its total loss-absorbing capacity rules for banks, and individual jurisdictions must ensure clear and co-ordinated implementation. 

Commercial cards: old rails, new tricks

November 23, 2015

Renewed interest in commercial card programmes has led to a flurry of innovation in the space, ultimately giving corporates more flexibility.

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Pakistan makes successful return to the bond market

November 2, 2015

Political and economic instability have kept Pakistan out of the bond markets for the best part of the past decade. However, with the reform-minded Nawaz Sharif government instilling confidence in investors, Citi has helped to facilitate the country's return to the markets.

Face the music: banking rules prevent total digital disruption

November 2, 2015

Will banking be disrupted by digitalisation to the extent that music and entertainment have? Not quite, thanks to the tight regulation those operating within financial markets have to adhere to.

New CEOs face tough investment banking decisions

October 26, 2015

It is a tough time to be the head of an investment bank, as new regulations and the need to cut costs take their toll.

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