Broken China should scare LatAm
I was only in Europe for a week orso in early July, but when I returned to Latin America the extent to which China had moved up the financial agenda was striking. Latin America can never afford to be insular,...
Germany’s bank problems are all of Europe’s
Forget Italy. Germany is still thebiggest banking problem in Europe; not just because the market itself is poor and destabilizing but also because it negates the possibility of a world-beating continental banking sector. Germany is Europe’s heart: geographically, economically and...
Macquarie’s new CEO strikes a blow for asset management – and women
The first is that it underlines the fact that Macquarie is now far more of an asset manager than an investment bank. Wikramanayake has run the asset management unit, with A$495.1 billion under management, for a decade. In the 2018...
Country risk: Colombia is on the springboard
Much like tourists approaching Colombia’s Rock of Guatapé, the new government can see the way to the top, but it’s going to be hard work A new government takes office in August led by president-elect Iván Duque Márquez, a lawyer...
Metro Bank has a credibility problem
Metro Bank’s chairman Vernon Hill Capital U-turns, drastically downgraded profitability targets, questions about related-party dealings: this is not how the bank with the strongest valuation in Europe should be run. UK challenger Metro Bank has, however, had to turn back...
We need to talk about UK banks
Theresa May’s effort to engineer a sensible looking soft departure has actually increased the risk of a no deal exit In August UK banks will finally start reporting their second quarter results, limping in behind their US and European counterparts....
Banks investing more in blockchain than tech companies
Banks are investing more in the blockchain than the tech companies, because they see it as a bigger threat to their business, according to Shidan Gouran, president and CEO of Global Blockchain, an investment company focused on blockchain-related companies. “Banks...
China Tower listing: A throwback with a twist
There is something pleasingly retro about the Hong Kong IPO of China Tower Corporation. Amid a tide of new technology listings, China Tower is strikingly tangible: it owns telecommunications towers, 1.8 million of them. The deal, which seeks to raise...
Under the hood of UBS’s Q2 results
Analysts liked the look of UBS’s Q2 numbers this morning, giving CEO Sergio Ermotti a fairly comfortable time in their question-and-answer session. And with good reason – the bank beat expectations, with higher deposit margins and lending counteracting net new...
China’s banks to face new NPL hit
It’s symbolic of the oddness of Chinese banking that we could see a 14% increase in non-performing loans this year without asset quality actually having deteriorated at all. How? Loan recognition standards. It is common practice worldwide that any loan...