The financial institutions group hits the headlines in the new world of bank-to-bank business
“Are you really going to write about FIG?” asks an earnest banker from the financial institutions group of a major European institution at his firm’s summer cocktail party. He cannot believe that the FIG department, where he has laboured all his life with little recognition or respect, is going to be the stuff of headlines and magazine covers. But FIG’s time has come. This month’s cover story explores how the new shape of the banking system means that banks are doing more work with other banks than with companies.Basel II remains at the top of the agenda of key issues and The Banker picks out two angles: fears about where the new rules are leading and, in the technology section, the IT challenges of Basel II.
The Banker has long held a reputation for being the forum where influential executives from across the industry and beyond wish to present their arguments and theories. Philippe Blavier, CEO for BNP Paribas’ corporate and investment bank, appears in this month’s agenda column; KV Kamath, ICICI Bank’s managing director and CEO, outlines his bank’s retail strategy in our regular focus on this area; Russian billionaire and boss of MDM Group, Andrei Melnichenko, is profiled in Karina’s Kolumn; and Dominick Cavuoto, president of Unisys global financial services division, presents in Tech Vision.
The Banker’s platform is not limited to nor only sought out by bankers. Don McKinnon, secretary general of the Commonwealth, calls for fair trade for developing countries in Viewpoint.
Investment banking, this month, highlights securitisation in eastern Europe and the rise of interest rate products in India. The team of the month hails from JP Morgan for a KfW exchangeable and the borrower profile is Philips Electronics. In FX and treasury, corporates use of credit derivatives is researched, and in global securities services, our writer assesses the impact of messaging protocol FIX on the post-trade space.
Casting our eagle eye around the world, there are reports on Iraq’s debt situation following the war, a comparison of dollarisation policies in El Salvador and Ecuador, the rise of consumer finance in Poland and Munich’s prospects as a finance centre. There are supplements to mark October’s meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum in Bangkok and to record developments in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries. It may be summer in the northern hemisphere but the pace at The Banker has not slowed in the heat.
