The battle for Privatbank: part two
It is almost exactly two years since I first heard a theory that, at the time, seemed far-fetched in the extreme – to whit, that Ihor Kolomoisky, Ukrainian oligarch par excellence and former owner of Privatbank, was plotting to regain...
From detecting cancer to spotting market abuse
New application From an initial start in foreign exchange, Features Analytics is now applying its approach to equities. Soviany says: “We have been working with a leading global investment bank that gave us equities market data from a specific geography....
JPM Coin competes with the Federal Reserve as much as with Ripple
Yes, its announcement had considerable comedy value. Umar Farooq, head of digital treasury services and blockchain at JPMorgan, must have struggled to keep a straight face while asserting “we have always believed in the potential of blockchain technology and we...
Mandiri and the necessity of reinvention
It is easy to forget just how drastic the Asian financial crisis was in Indonesia. History has it that the crisis started in Thailand, which is true, but Indonesia took the hardest hit, the sharpest devaluation. In mid 1997, a...
Kazakh banking sector clean-up continues with Tsesnabank sale
The end of a protracted and pricey restructuring of Kazakhstan’s banking sector came a step closer in February with the sale of troubled lender Tsesnabank to a well-connected local brokerage. First Heartland Securities (FHS), part of a group controlled by...
Time is running out for Greek NPLs
A mere decade after the financial crisis, Greek banks are finally showing signs of tackling their NPL exposures in earnest. However, this is due far more to pressure from the ECB and its desire to push ahead with banking union...
Quick read: How and why MEMX could take on the exchange incumbents
What is important is who it is, not what it is The new firm’s stated aim is to offer a simple trading model with basic order types, the latest technology and a simple, low cost fee structure; but just how...
Don’t fret over Spain’s political risks, its economy is the big factor
The Spanish economy is standing firm, as the country weathers political problems to achieve a fifth consecutive year of growth. Spain’s economic recovery has been nothing short of remarkable, with 2018 proving to be a fifth consecutive year of growth...
Santander non-call becomes a non-event
On February 12, Banco Santander did not call a perpetual instrument that many in the market had expected it not to call. The price of those bonds briefly dipped from their pre-announcement level of 98.7 cents to just below 97c...
Backlash brews against digital behaviour
In mid February, UK fintech company Revolut hit the headlines when it allegedly used customer data for a controversial ad campaign. Strewn across the London underground, Revolut used various alleged statistics on their customers’ spending habits to show how many...