What is the truth behind credit derivatives? Is the pricing of credit derivatives misleading bankers? Are participants fooling themselves over the benefits? This month we look at the risk management reality of these instruments and assess the latest market trends.
In reflecting on the Madrid bombings, we note in our supplement on Spain (one of six supplements this month) that business continues as usual. We also examine the chances of Spain’s outgoing finance minister Rodrigo Rato being the new head of the IMF, which faces credibility issues over Argentina. And we reveal the results of The Banker’s extensive FX poll and consider South Africa’s 10 years of democracy.
In our collection of supplements we look at Greece: its recent change of government, the Olympics and its vision of south east Europe. Moving north we examine Romania’s expanding economy and foreign bank invasion, while in Russia we study how retail banking has become the most dynamic part of the financial sector and interview Andrei Kazmin, chairman of the giant Sberbank.
In Malaysia, the economy is booming under a new prime minister and the central bank governor outlines her strategies. Meanwhile, our Core Banking Systems supplement looks at business transformation and the ability of banks to change systems. Our successful March ‘Core Systems Challenge’ conference will be repeated in 2005.
In capital markets, Nomura’s Brian Lawson outlines the changes the bank has implemented to regain its rightful place at the international table, and our Team of the Month is Citigroup for its part in HBOS’s $6.1bn retail mortgage-backed securitisation – the biggest ever. We also take a look at how international banks are determined to secure a bigger piece of the rich Russian pie and the disparate legal environments for covered bonds in Europe, while in Global Securities Services, we ask if consolidation ever reaps the rewards it promises.
Elsewhere, Börse Stuttgart is challenging Frankfurt’s dominance and, as the EU accession date approaches, we interview the European Central Bank’s Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, discuss when these 10 countries are likely to join the euro and list the Top 100 banks in the EBRD region. In Brazil, we look at banks’ new lending strategies, in Kazakhstan and Zimbabwe we examine contrasting central bank approaches and we interview Citigroup’s Stanley Fischer on Africa and its infant stock markets.
In retail, Standard Chartered explains its African retail strategy while in technology we study trends in market data delivery and the growing popularity of the ASP (application service provider) model.
