Deutsche Bank’s European head of FIG, Charles Murphy, explains to Geraldine Lambe why the bank decided to beef up its financial institutions capability and what the main challenges have been.

As the bidding war rages for the London Stock Exchange, Geraldine Lambe looks at how the 200-year-old-institution lost its lead in the European charts.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein CEO Andrew Pisker explains to Geraldine Lambe how his strategy for remodelling the investment bank has paid off and why there will always be room in the global market for good mid-sized European businesses.

When it came to creating a bond to tackle the thorny issue of longevity risk that pension funds face, BNP Paribas drew on the broad talents and outlook of its global risk solutions team, as Geraldine Lambe explains.

Geraldine Lambe selects products that are expected to be among the most popular this year.
In The Banker’s search for the hottest products of 2005, it proved impossible to find anything in the equity capital markets. Despite the fact that equity is historically cheap and debt historically expensive, only Lars Kreckel, European equity strategist at ABN AMRO would make a comment, and that was limited to: “We think equities as an asset class will do well next year and see liquidity flowing in at the beginning of the year.” In debt, derivatives, structured products and FX, however, it is a different story. What follows is a selection of the most popular.

Leading investment banks’ lucrative relationships with hedge funds have multiplied across a number of business silos. But their exposure to risk has grown too. Could their overlapping business lines spell trouble in difficult markets?

Credit Suisse First Boston, in its role as joint lead manager, worked to overcome Russia’s challenging economic conditions to strike Rosbank’s first international capital markets deal. Geraldine Lambe meets its pioneering team.

Are investment banks playing with fire with hedge funds? Will their increased exposure to the hedge fund community provide more risks than rewards? This month, our capital markets editor Geraldine Lambe examines the lucrative relationship between the banks and the funds, the additional risks attached, if any, and the impact on liquidity during market stress.

Nomura may not be the swashbuckling firm that it was in the 1980s and 1990s but, according to Zenji Nakamura, head of global markets, Europe, that will not prevent it from regaining a more prominent position in the international capital markets. Geraldine Lambe finds out how it intends to flex its Asian advantage.

Analysing The Banker’s Credit Risk 1000, Geraldine Lambe finds a pessimistic outlook on growth and few signs of a sustainable global recovery in corporate earnings.
This year has been a study in market psychology, as market participants and companies worldwide have attempted to make sense of a troubling and often conflicting mix of circumstances and events. As US non-farm payroll data made doubtful the strength and veracity of the country’s economic recovery, the Federal Reserve moved forcefully into tightening mode. Oil prices have continued their inexorable rise, with oil futures hitting their highest levels ever in August, although at the time of going to press, oil was showing signs of weakening. Driven by concerns about interrupted supplies, the balance of supply and demand, and the pace and durability of China’s economic growth, fears that the rising cost of oil would undermine the current recovery have been instrumental in pushing growth forecasts down.