Citi’s trader firings reflect tougher regulators
Citi’s decision to sack eight Hong Kong traders, for being a principal in trades while saying it was only an agent, should be seen in the context of greater strength among Asia-Pacific regulators. Citi’s action followed an internal review rather...
UBS Hong Kong sponsor ban settles misconduct case
In mid March, the statements appeared in a sequence on the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s website. “SFC reprimands and fines Merrill Lynch Far East Limited $128 million for sponsor failures.” “SFC reprimands and fines Morgan Stanley Asia Limited...
Latin America: Investment bankers place emphasis on sequential growth
International capital markets’ deal activity in Latin America for the first quarter of 2019 was much lower than in the same period of 2018, but bankers aren’t panicking – yet. At the beginning of this year, international investment bankers told...
Political crackdown harms Tanzania’s infrastructure ambitions
The populist policies of president John Magufuli have given investors cause for concern Tanzania will find it difficult to fulfil its huge infrastructure needs in the short to medium term given its challenging political situation, which has led to international investors...
Investment: The ultimate impact – systems change
Impact investment had its annual gathering at the Social Capital Markets conference in San Francisco in October. Thousands of attendees sipped kombucha, were encouraged to hug their neighbours and search their souls in the midst of serious discussions on how...
Brazil leads LatAm private equity surge
Private equity (PE) deals have recovered sharply in 2019 in Latin America, according to data from the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA). In the first half of 2019, international PE flows to the region reached $4.4 billion – a...
Sideways: Goldman’s Varadhan looks lonely
The dominance of the investment banking lieutenants of Goldman chief executive David Solomon at the top of the firm was reinforced on September 3 when Chavez was replaced as one of three global securities co-heads by Marc Nachmann, who had...
Can Credit Suisse’s Khan turn around UBS Wealth Management?
UBS’s Iqbal Khan, the former head of International Wealth Management at Credit Suisse UBS announced at the end of August the departure of Martin Blessing, co-head of UBS Global Wealth Management (WM), and his replacement by Iqbal Khan, the former...
The business risk of voting against climate change proposals
In April, Equinor agreed to make strengthened commitments on climate change, following engagement with Climate Action 100+, an initiative created by investor and shareholder groups to work with 100 of the world’s largest emitters. Investor signatories led by UBS Asset Management,...
Sideways: Buffett and Icahn – old dogs stick to old tricks
Icahn – an endlessly litigious activist investor – used his trademark acerbic tone to complain about the deal. He claimed that the terms of the Berkshire Hathaway preferred stock deal highlighted Hollub’s inexperience, saying that a “ninety-minute deal ‘negotiation’ with...