In recent months, the securities lending market has suffered from a febrile equities environment and ongoing restrictions on short-sell positions. Can the introduction of central counterparty services restore the sector’s fortunes? Writer Frances Maguire.

Huge question marks hang over the future of Lehman Brothers’ clients’ assets as well as over the prime broker financing practice known as rehypothecation. Writer Michelle Price.

Global trade flows have ground to a shuddering halt, due in part to a fundamental lack of trust between buyers, their suppliers and the banks that finance them. Could supply chain finance provide the solution? Writer Charlie Corbett.

Continued losses for monoline insurers on structured products mean the model may be broken for the foreseeable future. New deals can still be done, but lower leverage will be vital. Writer Philip Alexander.

When RZB announced its rights issue in October it was not in response to market pressure, but the final step of a three-year programme to build capital in line with the assets and liabilities of the growing bank. Writer Edward Russell-Walling.

As smaller tech companies flounder due to a lack of funds, mergers and acquisitions with larger firms are only natural. Merrill Lynch’s technology investment banking team reflects on its advisory role in a flurry of recent deals. Writer Kathryn Tully.

It’s cold out there in the markets and in the freezing conditions, merger and acquisition activity has slowed to a virtual standstill. But the market is not entirely dead, and if necessity is the mother of invention, it can also be the mother of the M&A deal. Writer Joanne Hart.

BNP Paribas’ head of equities and commodity derivatives for the Americas explains the machinations involved in the firm’s recent purchase of Bank of America’s equity prime brokerage business.

As the banking industry descends into ever-deeper gloom, the more ethical, risk-sharing approach offered by the Islamic finance industry is attracting an increasing amount of attention. The Banker’s Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions ranking lists the sector’s key players.
By Stephen Timewell & Joseph DiVanna

Saudi Arabia’s strong fundamentals mean that bank exposure to the credit crisis has been limited, and the mood among bankers is bullish. Writer Nadine Marroushi.