Month: October 2016

Barclays Africa is on a transformation track, focused on making data analytics available to the whole organisation, as Yasaman Hadjibashi, its chief data officer, explains to Joy Macknight.

Print section
Print Rubric: 

Two lenders seal a merger, while another ponders its options

Print Headline: 

Spectral forms

Print Fly Title: 

Italian banks

UK Only Article: 
standard article

Issue: 

The threat from Russia

Fly Title: 

Italian banks

Location: 

MILAN

Main image: 

Will they Passera?

Will they Passera?

FROM the mists of Italian banking, new shapes are emerging. One is at last becoming flesh: on October 15th the shareholders of two lenders, Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano, approved a merger that has been months in the making. The substance of another—Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank as well as Italy’s most troubled—is still shrouded, but it is likely to become clearer at a meeting of Monte dei Paschi’s board on October 24th.
The merged bank, to be …

Asset managers are showing greater interest in providing much-needed financial support for global trade, as greater digitisation opens up the market to these new players. Joy Macknight reports. 

The unbundling of research from trading commissions represents a major change in the way banks and brokerages produce analysis for their clients and the French supervisor has taken a lead in this debate by appealing for a level playing field and an end to ‘gold-plating’. By Justin Pugsley.

The arrival of online robo-advisers – providers of automated, algorithm-based financial advice – is fuelling debate among wealth managers and regulators on their benefits and risks. Is robo-advice a great innovation to fill the advice gap, or an overly optimistic and unsustainable business model? Silvia Pavoni reports.

At Sibos 2016 in late September, The Banker chaired a frank discussion of the challenges and options faced by the UK as it prepares to leave the EU, and whether it could take a leaf from the Swiss book. Dan Barnes reports.

Postal Savings Bank of China has thrown its doors open to global investors with a jumbo Hong Kong IPO. While the share price has not moved much since the deal closed, the Hong Kong listing offers long-term benefits to the lender, which is eyeing potential business overseas. Stefania Palma reports.

Hit by an earthquake and trade blockade with India, Nepal has endured a tough few years. However, despite these events its banks have remained profitable, though much of this is explained by what many deem to be an over-reliance on remittances. Peter Janssen reports.

Nepal’s central bank governor, Chiranjibi Nepal, tells Peter Janssen about how the country’s trade blockade with India actually helped its trade deficit, spells out his plans to strengthen the banking sector, and explains why remittances are so important to the economy.

Aldermore was set up following the financial crisis to service SMEs in the UK. CEO Phillip Monks tells Stefanie Linhardt why this ‘challenger’ bank is so positive about life post-Brexit.