The Banker back issues from January 2006:
Comment: Will A Three-year Profit Run Stretch To Four? - A Fourth Consecutive Year Of Economic Growth Would Be Remarkable, But A US Slowdown Could Spoil The Run.
Jan 01, 2006 ... Banks across the globe had bumper years in 2003 and 2004, bouncing back with record profits following the 9/11 attacks and the bursting of the technology bubble that had brought a profits slump in 2001 and 2002. According to The Banker's Top 1000 listings, aggregate pre-tax ...
Comment: Rating Agencies Need Some Pre-emptive Ideas - Moody's And Standard & Poor's Start 2006 Facing Charges Of Running A Duopoly - And Some Tough Questioning. Their Only Hope? To Come Up With A Solution Before The US Government Imposes One.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2006 ... Senior executives at Moody's and Standard & Poor's may not have a happy new year. They are under increasing pressure from the US Congress about their perceived duopoly in providing credit ratings as well as other business practices such as unsolicited ratings. Lobbying a must ...
Bracken: Will EMU Survive 2010? - Daniel Gros Assesses The Likely Consequences Of A Downturn In The Fortunes Of Some Eurozone Members.
Jan 01, 2006 ... The past few years of slow growth have severely tested the fiscal framework of European Monetary Union (EMU) and the independence of the European Central Bank (ECB). Political pressures are increasing for the ECB to support economic activity in the short term. However, slow ...
Viewpoint: China's Rural Mission - Most Of China's Population Live In The Countryside And These Are Also Its Poorest Citizens, Making Rural Development One Of The Government's Top Agenda Items. Finance Minister Jin Renqing Explains.
Jan 01, 2006 ... China is a big agricultural nation. Of the 1.3 billion people in China, 800 million live in rural areas. For more than two decades, implementation of reforms and opening-up policies have brought remarkably rapid economic growth to China, but the rural/urban income gap keeps expanding. ...
This Month: News.(appointments and acquisitions in banking industry)
Jan 01, 2006 ... - Giampiero Fiorani, former CEO of Italian BPI, has been arrested in connection with the bank's bid for Antonveneta, the Italian bank taken over by Dutch bank ABN AMRO. Giovanni Consorte, Unipol's chairman, is also being investigated for his role in BPI's attempts to acquire Antonveneta. ...
This Month: Main News - Dubai Sukuk Attracts Interest From All Parties.(banking industry)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2006 ... The $2.8bn sukuk issue of Dubai's Ports Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), the world's biggest-ever Islamic bond issue, is likely to be oversubscribed by at least 50%-75%. The deal, lead managed by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) and Barclays Capital, reflects the huge growing ...
This Month: Reports - IIF Report - Investor Relations: 2005 Assessment Of Key Borrowing Countries.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2006 ... Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Korea, the Philippines and Turkey in particular are now implementing investor relations and data transparency programmes that largely reflect best practices, according to a report from the Washington- based Institute of International Finance (IIF), the global ...
This Month: Reports -The Banker Seminar - Microfinance Into Mainstream Banking.(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2006 ... A recent seminar hosted by The Banker in London discussed the case for mainstream bank involvement in microfinance and highlighted partnership models as a means to scale up microfinance activities. The business case is clear: the potential market of three billion people in emerging markets ...
Karina's Kolumn: Gambling On Better Regulation - Charlie McCreevy, EU Commissioner For The Internal Market And Services, Tells Karina Robinson Of His Fight Against Growing Protectionism.(Interview)
Jan 01, 2006 ... "Oh God, she definitely wants to get me sacked!" exclaims the European Union commissioner for the internal market and services, covering his blushing face with his hands, on being asked whether the EU would be better off without France. He continues: "On the other hand the French would say ...
Central Banker Of The Year: With A Fourth Consecutive Year Of Global Economic Growth A Real Prospect, The Banker Heralds The World's Best Central Bank Governors Who Are Standing Up To Their More Profligate Political Masters And Forcing Through The Still-n.(awards in banking industry)
Jan 01, 2006 ... Central Banker of the Year - Global & Africa Charles Soludo, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria Defying predictions of doom, Nigeria's banking sector has been transformed, incredibly in just 18 months. Eighty-nine mostly weak, under-capitalised banks have been culled ...
Finance Minister Of The Year: Swings To The Political Left, Eurozone Preparation And Banking Crises. The Banker's Selection Of The World's Leading Finance Ministers Reveals That Canny, Dual Management Of The Political And Economic Spheres Is A Prerequisit.(awards for finance ministers)
Jan 01, 2006 ... Finance Minister of the Year - Global & Americas Danilo Astori, Minister of the Economy and Finance, Uruguay With the victory of Tabare Vazquez and his Frente Amplio (Broad Front) coalition party in the 2004 elections, Uruguay became the fifth Latin American country ...
The Banker History: Window On The World - Stephen Timewell Traces Eight Decades Of The Banker, Which Has Reflected Global Historical Changes Through The Years, And He Profiles Its Founder, Brendan Bracken, Whose Influence Is Still Felt Today.
Jan 01, 2006 ... For eight decades The Banker has been a prime source of global financial intelligence and a window on the world's key banking and economic developments. Rarely do magazines reach such a venerable age - and even more rarely do they maintain the vision and thrust of their founders. ...
IMF Managing Director: New Priorities For An Era Of Globalisation - With Demographic Change And Globalisation Presenting Fresh Challenges, Rodrigo De Rato Explains How The 60-year-old International Monetary Fund Is Adapting Itself To New Paradigms.
Jan 01, 2006 ... The IMF recently marked its 60th anniversary. Created toward the end of the Second World War to establish a multilateral framework for trade and finance that would avoid the failings of the inter-war period, the organisation has seen, and adapted to, huge changes in its 60-year history. ...
Capital Markets: Yesterday's Wild Upstarts, Today's Founding Fathers - In 80 Years The World's Financial Markets And The Corporate Landscape Have Been Transformed Out Of All Recognition. Somewhere Along The Way Eurobonds, Financial Futures, Securitisation.
Jan 01, 2006 ... Eurobonds Hans-Joerg Rudloff It is difficult to pin down Hans-Joerg Rudloff, chairman of Barclays Capital and doyen of the Eurobond markets, on a particular topic. It is almost impossible to get him to talk about particular deals from the glory days of the Eurobond ...
Opec President: The Role Of Oil: Past, Present And Future - Lessons From The 20th Century Teach The Oil Industry How To Deal With The Challenge Of Volatility And Rising Demand, Says Opec President Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
Jan 01, 2006 ... Oil has been the world's dominant commercial energy source since early last century, when it took over this role from coal. In time, this highly accessible, adaptable and distributable hydrocarbon transformed the way the business world thought and acted, particularly between the two world ...
Multinationals: The New Masters Of The Universe - The Rise Of The Multinational Company Began In 1945, And Just Kept Going. Frances Maguire Looks At The Impact The Multinational Has Had On The Globalisation Of Banking And On Treasury And Cash Management S.
Jan 01, 2006 ... The 100 biggest companies in the world control about 20% of foreign assets, and employ 6 million workers. Multi-national companies (MNCs) account for two-thirds of world trade, and one-third of world trade is intra-firm trade between branches of the same company. These MNCs account for ...
Poland's Top Economist: From Bookkeepers To Capitalist Innovators - Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz Outlines The Tortuous Process Of Ditching Socialist Operating Modes That Ex-communist Banks Were Forced To Endure In Order To Become The Competitive Institutions T.
Jan 01, 2006 ... The transformation of a socialist banking system is very difficult. Banks in centrally planned economies were primarily bookkeepers for the planned allocation of resources. Credits were allocated to enterprises on the basis of planned investment priorities and repayment was subject to ...
Top 1000: How To Measure A Giant - Terry Baker-Self Describes The Evolution Of The Banker's World Listings And How The Way They Are Assessed Has Reflected Changes In Bank Practices And Industry Regulations Over The Years.
Jan 01, 2006 ... Tne emergence of The Banker's regular bank listings in the second half of its 80-year history has been regarded as one its main strengths. As long ago as 1930 The Banker published its first list, which showed the foreign bank representation in London - a listing that later became an ...
Special Supplement: Operational Risk - Obeying The Regulator - Of All The Forms Of Operational Risk, Compliance Officers Are Most Concerned With Regulatory Risk. Why? Because The Consequences Of Getting It Wrong Can Be So Severe, Writes Michael Imeson.
Jan 01, 2006 ... The definition of operational risk is simple - it's the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external events. In other words, it covers every conceivable type of risk, although in practice, in the banking world at least, it ...
Special Supplement: Operational Risk - A Problem Shared - High Quality Data Is Essential For Good Operational Risk Management But Finding It Can Be Difficult Without Access To A Shared Database. Michael Imeson Explains.
Jan 01, 2006 ... Sound risk management depends on many things, including accurate data on 'loss events'. The question is: where can this information be found? It may be relatively easy to source internal data but external data is not so easy to locate - unless your organisation subscribes to an operational ...
Special Supplement: Operational Risk - Foiling The Till Raiders - Staff Are The Major Perpetrators Of Fraud On Companies. Michael Imeson Outlines The Importance Of Sound Operational Risk Policies And Procedures In Preventing, Detecting And Investigating I.
Jan 01, 2006 ... If you're looking for a good example of bare-faced cheek, then look no further than Hong Kong this March. For there you will find Nick Leeson, the disgraced ex-Barings trader, plying his new trade as a keynote speaker at the Fraud, Oprisk and Security World Asia 2006 event. ...
Question Time: What The Bankers Say - What Are The Recent Trends And Economic Prospects That Are Shaping Investment And The Financial Sector? Silvia Pavoni Quizzes Top Bankers From Around The World.
Jan 01, 2006 ... The questions 1. What makes your country attractive to investors? 2. What are the economic prospects for your country over the next three to five years? 3. How do you foresee the financial sector in your country changing? 4. What role will your ...
Special Supplement: China - Walking, Not Running - China's Rapid Economic Growth And Transformation Continues Apace. But Can Its Banks Can Keep Up With Such Accelerated Growth? Stephen Timewell Reports.
Jan 01, 2006 ... "Yes, we have a long way to go but we are walking." These modest conclusions from Bank of China's (BoC) executive assistant president Zhu Min seem to mask not only what China's largest bank has achieved but also underestimates the transformation that has taken place at BoC and the entire ...
Special Supplement: China - Sights Set High - In A Visit To Beijing And Shanghai, Stephen Timewell Talks To 13 Of The Top 18 Banks In China, And Two Major Foreign Banks, About Their Goals, Strategies And Prospects.(Industry Overview)
Jan 01, 2006 ... BANK OF CHINA A major restructuring has occurred at Bank of China, the country's largest bank, following the government's $22.5bn capital injection at the end of 2003 and the involvement of foreign investors in the latter half of 2005. At that time, a Royal Bank of Scotland ...
Special Supplement: China - Foreign Friends - Han Mingzhi, Director-general Of The CBRC, Outlines The Role Of Foreign Banks In China.
Jan 01, 2006 ... The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) fully recognises the importance of foreign financial institutions in the Chinese market. Over the years, foreign financial institutions have been instrumental in changing the landscape of the banking industry and have become an important ...
Flat Tax: Bumpy Ride For Flat Tax - Flat Tax Is Unpalatable To Governments Of Established Economies But Its Adoption By Emerging Countries Could Spark A Rethink. Brian Caplen Reports.
Jan 01, 2006; ... Replacing today's convoluted tax systems with a simple, single rate of tax paid by rich and poor alike on their earnings - flat tax - would be a banker's dream and a politician's nightmare. Politicians aspire to mould society into a new shape that reflects their own vision of paradise on ...
Standard Chartered CEO: Responsible For More Than The Bottom Line - Companies That Recognise Corporate Responsibility As A Driver Of Performance Will Be The Successful Global Companies Of Tomorrow, Says Mervyn Davies.
Jan 01, 2006 ... When I became chief executive of Standard Chartered in November 2001, the idea of corporate responsibility was virtually unheard of. It now runs through our company. We have introduced an annual corporate responsibility report, we have a board-level corporate responsibility ...
Africa: African Challenges, African Solutions - IMF Prescriptions Have Been Discarded, Making Way For An African-owned Plan, Based On Good Governance, Infrastructure Investment And Intra-regional Trade. James Eedes Explains.
Jan 01, 2006; ... In 1926, when The Banker first appeared, Africa was still almost entirely under European colonial rule. But it was restless. After the First World War, the European powers slowly began to acknowledge a greater obligation to their colonial subjects, who had fought bravely under their ...
Top 100 African Banks: South Africa Takes The Lion's Share - South African Banks Head Our League Table Again, With The Top Five Slots And A Hefty Chunk Of Tier 1 Capital.
Jan 01, 2006 ... Once again, this year the 'big five' South African banks occupy the top positions in The Banker's Top 100 sub-Saharan African banks listing. The remaining places in the top 10 are filled by another South African bank, African Bank, at six and then four banks from Nigeria: First Bank of ...
Special Supplement: Barbados - Crunch Time - A Referendum On Severing Links With The UK, Entry Into A Regional Single Market And The Hosting Of The Cricket World Cup - All By 2007. Tom Blass Reports.
Jan 01, 2006; ... Independence Day in Bridgetown was a good-natured, relaxed affair. Everyone who possessed a uniform, it appeared, was entitled to file past: national guard, police, coast guard, scouts and ambulance brigade included. It wasn't a celebration of martial pride or posturing so much ...
Special Supplement: Barbados - Reasons To Celebrate - After Several Recessions, Barbados Is Bouncing Back, And The Government's Moves To Strengthen The Financial Sector And Bring In Foreign Investment Are Paying Off.
Jan 01, 2006 ... Barbados, an English-speaking and independent Commonwealth country since 1966, is the most easterly of the Caribbean islands and close to the major international financial centres. Its gross domestic product (GDP) is among the highest in the Caribbean; in 2004 it was an estimated $2.3bn, ...
Special Supplement: Barbados - Winds Of Change - Barbados Is A Bellwether For A New Phenomenon - The Growth Of Caribbean Pan-regional Banks Through The Acquisition Of Local Players. Tom Blass Explains.
Jan 01, 2006; ... It could be argued - and some have - that a small island nation of just over a quarter of a million people, with six institutions offering state-of-the- art domestic banking services - is over-banked. But there's a changing dynamic in the Caribbean. Barbados is no longer a market in ...
Special Supplement: Barbados - Good For Business - Barbados Has Succeeded In Its Plan To Become A Regional International Business Hub And Attract A Host Of Different Enterprises By Ensuring Its Legal Framework And Tax System Are Both Robust And Transparen.
Jan 01, 2006 ... At the beginning of the 1980s, the Barbados government made a policy determination that despite the country's small size, it could leverage its international reputation for strong democratic traditions, prudent economic management, excellent quality of life and a 98% literacy rate to turn ...
Special Supplement: Barbados - Low-tax Not No-tax - Barbadian Bankers Are Of One Mind That A Light Touch Regime Combined With Transparency Is Better Than A 'no-tax And Secrecy' Culture. Tom Blass Explains.
Jan 01, 2006; ... Sugar, the sweet and sticky stuff, once king of Barbados, has been well and truly usurped. Low world prices, combined with cuts in the European Union's preferential prices, will make it difficult to compete in world sugar markets in any meaningful way. And while, ironically perhaps, the ...
80 Years: Credit Suisse Research Chief - Global Winners And Losers - A Booming Population And Widespread Immigration Is Fuelling Worldwide Growth. CSFB Head Of Research Giles Keating Looks At The Likely Impact On The Global Economy.
Jan 01, 2006 ... The number of people in the world has almost doubled over the past three decades to reach 6.5 billion, yet some three-quarters of them remain outside the economic mainstream, in rural China and India, in much of Africa, and elsewhere. Many aspire to join that mainstream, and the ...
80 Years: Post Offices - Post Modernism: The Drive Into Banking - Wendy Atkins Reports On The Worldwide Shift By National Post Offices Away From Their Traditional Restricted Roles To Become Providers Of Commercially Driven Products.
Jan 01, 2006 ... For years, post offices have been the 'comfortable shoes' of the financial services world. Their old-fashioned savings books and unpretentious surroundings have represented a brand that customers could trust. But the winds of change have been blowing worldwide. Advances in technology, ...
80 Years: IT Visionary - Leaner Technology, Larger Profits - For The Past 20 Years Banks Have Constructed Ever More Elaborate IT Systems, Which Have Rarely Boosted Profits. They Must Now Replace Them With Simpler, Cheaper Infrastructures, Says Nicholas Ca.
Jan 01, 2006 ... Banks today have a welter of information systems that provide little competitive advantage. But a new era may be dawning. In 1950, Bank of America launched an ambitious effort to automate its bookkeeping. The project came to fruition 10 years later when, in a televised ...
80 Years: Technology - Leading The IT Revolution - Dan Barnes Follows The Historical Path Of The Technology That Has Allowed Banking To Progress In The Past 80 Years And Looks At What Lies Ahead In The Next 20 Years.(technology in financial services)
Jan 01, 2006 ... The last century was the golden age of automation. By January 1926, when the first edition of The Banker was launched, mechanisation had changed the face of the world, contributing to 'efficiency' in warfare, transport and industry. Henry Ford had been operating his car production plant in ...
Technology: Tech Vision - Rick Snape - Although Bullish When Discussing The Competition, BT Radianz's CEO Is Acutely Aware Of The Importance That Relationships Have To Play In His Vision For The Company's Future. Dan Barnes Explains.(banking industry forecasts)
Jan 01, 2006 ... The acquisition of Radianz by BT was potentially one of the most significant events of 2005 in the world of banking IT. A secure network for provision of financial services is becoming increasingly important to many businesses, not only the banks themselves. In combining the ...
80 Years: Bank Art Collections - State Of The Art - Karina Robinson Assesses The Correlation Between The Corporate Branding Of Individual Banks With The Works Of Art They Have Acquired Over The Years.(industry forecasts)
Jan 01, 2006 ... To what extent does the art that a financial institution collects reflect its personality? In an era of branding, where companies spend millions on unifying their message, the art within its walls should surely be a reflection of the core values of a bank. Yet art is part of the creative ...
Regulation: A Directive With Teeth - When The Payment Services Directive Begins To Bite, Italians Will Open Bank Accounts In The Netherlands To Avoid High Charges And Banks Will Lose A Fortune. Chris Skinner Examines The True Nature Of Its Teeth.(regulations in banking industry)
Jan 01, 2006 ... What is it? The Payment Services Directive is the legal framework for creating a single payments market for cash, cards and electronic products across all EU member states. It follows several other key milestones in Europe including: the implementation of EU Regulation ...