Banks that fail to spot new talent have a poor future ahead of them. The root cause of many a corporate crisis can be traced back to a very bad management promotion leaving the person who was best qualified for the job to depart to a rival institution.
To assist banks in avoiding this pitfall, The Banker has engaged in a piece of talent spotting. This month’s cover story looks at the Rising Stars of Banking, the mostly 40-somethings whose careers have reached an advanced stage where the next couple of jumps could take them to the CEO’s chair. Banks should check out that they are treating these prized executives right. They are difficult to find, hard to replace and the future may depend on not losing them.
The same can be said of the teams that have created our Deals of the Year. This year we have organised this in countries, reflecting the huge international reach of The Banker, and have found deals of note in all corners of the world. Congratulations to all our winners.
Another winner is Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein CEO Andrew Pisker, who rarely gives in-depth interviews but this month opens up to capital markets editor Geraldine Lambe. He explains how he has remodelled the bank and why he is confident that it can do well in a market dominated by the bulge bracket. Also in capital markets, our team of the month is HSBC’s financial institutions group for its work with UK health insurer Bupa, while issuer strategy looks at HBOS’s social housing covered bond. In FX and derivatives we look at the rise of the repo market, and in cash and securities services at the latest trends in payments.
Two strong themes in this issue are microfinance and Islamic finance. As it is the International Year of Microfinance, we invited Mark Malloch Brown, the head of the United Nations Development Programme, to contribute a viewpoint on the opportunities for commercial banks, while in retail strategy we consider what major players are doing in this sector. Islamic finance is an area that now interests non-Islamic issuers and investors, and in this issue we describe the various forms it can take.
In our country section, we talk to Pakistan’s central bank governor, Ishrat Husain; describe the post-tsunami banking scene in Thailand; and explore developments in Taiwan. We ask whether Brazil can make investment grade and provide updates on Romania and the Maghreb; and Jan Wagner explores the developing German market for non-performing loans and securitisations.
Dan Barnes interviews BNP Paribas CIO Hervé Gouëzel in tech vision, and looks at the latest developments in customer relationship management.
Last but not least, in our Bracken column, Mexico’s undersecretary of finance, Alonso García Tamés, examines best practice for sovereign debt issuance.
