Credit-enhanced project bonds have taken time to reach the market, but a debut UK deal arranged by HSBC could set a useful precedent for financing offshore power transmission infrastructure.

The Banker’s Finance Minister of the Year awards celebrate the officials who managed to restore economic stability and even growth to their countries following a turbulent few years.

German banks will want to look as good as possible for the European Central Bank’s asset quality review, especially in light of the country’s hard line during various sovereign debt and banking crises in the wider eurozone. 

Sanjeev Kumar leads a corporate advisory team at RBS designed to maintain the ability to provide large corporates with strategic advice after the bank’s exit from mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets. He tells The Banker why talk is valuable.

Many investors are confident that 2013 will be remembered as the year the US economy finally started its recovery. For other parts of the world, not least the eurozone and most major emerging markets, the memories are likely to be a lot gloomier. Paul Wallace reports.