Americas

Citigroup’s new architecture to make its banking, capital markets and advisory (BCMA) group a fitter competitor in sustainability and ESG issues emphasises two channels of communication, according to Manuel Falcó, co-head of BCMA, through the most senior rainmakers and a cadre of younger enthusiasts.

Some of the largest investment banks made 12% less revenue from lending in the first quarter, despite balance sheet expansion as they supported companies, according to research from analytics firm CRISIL Coalition.

Cboe Global Markets will reopen its open-outcry options trading floor at the beginning of June, after more than two months in which the world’s major derivatives exchanges have operated exclusively electronically.

Banks are bounding back into the Kangaroo market. On Wednesday, BNP Paribas jumped in to sell the first syndicated Australian dollar senior non-preferred deal since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, later that day the Bank of Nova Scotia announced plans to join the fray with a mandate for a three year bail-inable deal.

Alantra is buffing its credit portfolio advisory team with the addition of Marcus Evans and Christos Stefanidis, who will join as managing directors in the UK and Greece. The credit portfolio advisory firm is also opening up offices in Latin America and China.

Equities and investment-grade bonds are overpriced in developed markets, according to Tommy Garvey, member of the asset allocation team at GMO. The US-based investment firm has just slashed its exposure to developed equity markets.

Chinese travel agency Trip.com Group has closed the senior syndication phase of a $1bn multi-tranche loan.

Rating agencies say that senior unsecured bondholders in Latam Airlines face bleak recovery prospects after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the largest airline in Latin America to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US.

The EU should further loosen bank leverage ratio requirements if it wants to avoid a credit crunch amid Covid-19, according to Michael Lever, head of prudential regulation at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe.

Argentina officially entered default for the ninth time on May 22 as the grace period expired on $503m of overdue coupon payments. However, there is increased optimism that the sovereign will reach an agreement with bondholders after the largest creditor group said “direct and immediate discussion” was required.

Burning Rock Biotech is planning to float on Nasdaq for as much as $100m.

In this round-up, China’s top government officials, including president Xi Jinping, discuss key economic targets and a fiscal stimulus package, and foreign minister Wang Yi warns the US against a ‘new cold war’.