The regulator's view header

In this session, part of The European Retail Banking Summit, a regulator and the UK’s consumer ombudsman review regulatory changes to understand what might be in store and the future regulatory landscape that banks will have to operate in.

Defying the downturn

There can be few areas of the world that show so clearly the dangers of over-development than the skyline of Dubai, which once had the highestconcentration of construction cranes in the world. Today, the cranes are idle, the market has stalled and there is a new mood of sobriety.

Death of a merger

Fortis Bank was close to bankruptcy in 2008 after a combination of risky initiatives and the financial crisis depleted the company’s assets. One of these initiatives was the failed merger with a Dutch banking giant, ABN Amro, says Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, head of transversal portfolio management at BNP Paribas Fortis in Belgium.

Good idea, bad timing

“Fail early and fail cheap,” is the motto at Suncorp, a financial services firm in Brisbane, Australia. If a project is floundering, the project’s executive sponsor is expected to identify the problem and make a decision about what to do before major resources are wasted.

The importance of local knowledge

Synergy Asset Management is a Geneva-based family office that manages money for several high net worth families in the Middle East and Europe. In 2008, Synergy, together with some private investors, set up the Landmark Real Estate Fund, a Swiss-based real estate investment fund that aims to provide solid, low-risk, steady returns in commercial and residential investment opportunities in Switzerland and other parts of Europe.

Corporate inversions back in the news again

Now that the regulatory dust is beginning to settle, some recent transactions indicate that multinationals appear ready to reengage in these controversial transactions

CFOs must account for back office shift from admin to advisory

As IT and HR budgets outstrip revenue growth, CFOs need to take a fresh look at how these costs are managed and the type of work these support functions are carrying out

The democratisation of finance for clean-tech

Crowdfunding can give clean technology companies quick access to cheap capital, argues Irene Maffini, New Ventures Manager at The Carbon Trust.

How customers are now calling the shots in retail banking

By most accounts it’s a good time to be a retail bank customer in Europe, particularly so in the UK argues Philip Davies.

Divergent

The most common theme in emerging markets currently appears to be that there isn’t one. There’s slower growth in China, growing optimism in India, political uncertainty in Brazil and international sanctions in Russia. Each story is significant yet somewhat unrelated, making it difficult for banks and asset managers to package them for investors into a neat, tidy theme labelled emerging markets (EM).

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