After the damaging emissions scandal in 2015, Volkswagen came back fighting in 2017. This led to VW Bank, freshly separated from VW Financial Services, issuing a three-tranche deal that exceeded all expectations. David Wigan reports.

Life is a dream for US and European leveraged borrowers, with everything from terms to pricing working aggressively in their favour. Participants claim the pre-crisis excesses are a thing of the past, but there are new risks lurking in today’s record-breaking volumes. Danielle Myles reports.

Innogy, the youthful business that was spun out of RWE in 2016, found plenty of takers when it decided on a green bond programme to complement its sustainable wind energy credentials. David Wigan reports.

As sharia-compliant finance grows and institutions embrace mobile and internet banking, observers believe the opportunities offered by Islamic fintech will become irresistible to the sector – despite its lack of global standards. Kit Gillet reports.

Now that important issuance and regulation milestones have been passed, Nigeria is well placed to succeed in its aim to become Africa’s Islamic banking hub. Kit Gillet reports.

Why are capital markets in developing countries so far behind those of their more developed neighbours? The Banker spoke to experts at an International Finance Corporation conference to discuss strategies for getting things moving. Edited by Silvia Pavoni.

Italian energy company Snam demerged from Italgas in 2016, and since then has pulled off several deals to reduce its debt financing costs, ultimately leading to a rating upgrade. David Wigan reports.

With an urgent need for better infrastructure, the Dominican Republic is keen to attract more private investment. It is introducing new laws to offer guarantees to investors, but insists deals must benefit the country too. Silvia Pavoni reports.

The Austrian government’s landmark 100-year bond drew double the usual amount of investors. Markus Stix of the Austrian Treasury described the deal to David Wigan. 

Every inch of Europe’s trading universe will be touched by MiFID II, which takes effect from January 2018. It may achieve its goals of investor protection and supervisory oversight but this could come at the expense of less liquidity, less competition and a string of other unintended consequences, writes Danielle Myles.