Goldman’s revived Ecuadorian coverage sure sign of new deal
Goldman Sachs published an economics report on January 10 informing the markets that it was “re-initiating coverage of the Ecuadorian” economy. Then, less than two weeks later, the investment bank repackaged a $400 million social housing bond for the country...
Capital markets: How to enter China
By Rebecca Feng Foreign banks are rightly excited about their chances of getting unfettered access to China’s capital markets. They can already own 51% of onshore securities joint ventures – the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), headed by Yi Huiman,...
Why you might buy a burger with bitcoin in Venezuela, but not Europe
If you live in a country plagued by hyperinflation, which renders the local currency close to worthless, how would you go about buying anything? In Venezuela, where the bolívar continues to decline against the dollar – on Monday, $1 could...
CECL accounting standard still under fire as banks report day-one impact
Strong performances by JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, and disappointments at Goldman Sachs, dominated commentary around the 2019 US bank earnings calls in January. However, lurking in the background was the less eye-catching but critically important CECL, the current expected credit...
Argentina’s default risk a tale of central bank failure not just government mismanagement
Argentina’s new president Alberto Fernández A new year, but Argentina’s investors face a far too familiar problem, as the country embarks on another economic crisis plan under a new more left-leaning administration targeting a debt restructuring deal for the end...
M&A bankers hope BAE Systems’ US acquisitions set the trend for 2020
On Monday, UK defence company BAE Systems announced two acquisitions worth $2.2 billion in the US. It will pay Collins Aerospace $1.925 billion for its military global positioning system (GPS) assets and Raytheon $275 million for its airborne tactical radios...
BlackRock needs to walk the walk on climate change
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is getting serious about climate change. “Last September, when millions of people took to the streets to demand action on climate change, many of them emphasized the significant and lasting impact...
Libor: Banks must jump before they are pushed
On Thursday, the risk-free rate working group at the Bank of England published its priorities for the transition away from Libor to Sterling’s risk-free replacement interest rate, Sonia. Making a firm, if entirely predictable, statement that “the time to act...
First Kenyan shilling green bond lists on London Stock Exchange
A Kenyan property developer has listed the first shilling-denominated green bond programme on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), marking a step forward in the bid to open up Africa’s local currency bond market to international investors. Low global rates have...
Concerns still roil the money markets after a quiet new year
It has been quiet out there in the US dollar money markets; maybe too quiet. On Wednesday, Patrick Harker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, shared some thoughts at a New York conference on monetary policy normalization. He...