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2020 was an extraordinary year. It was period many would rather forget in their personal lives, but a year of outsize returns in pockets of securitized products. It was also a year that turned the outlook for securitization on its head.

Nominative determinism has come up in Taipan before. But not everyone can love thy fate.

Banks that mostly missed out on last year's trading and origination windfall would find it difficult to make up for lost time by leaning into investment banking; that ship has probably already sailed.

Italian prime minister-designate Mario Draghi must walk a knife-edge if he is to form a government and present a national recovery and resilience plan. If he takes too hard a line the mill of Italian politics will chew him up and spit him out. If he is too quick to compromise, the EU’s life as a giant bond issuer may be shorter than hoped.

Chinese regulators have made a long overdue move to reduce the number of boards at the Shenzhen stock exchange. That points to a greater commitment towards streamlining the country’s sometimes confounding capital markets.

GlobalCapital and HSBC hosted a virtual roundtable in mid-January to discuss the blowout start to high yield bond issuance in 2021. Leading market experts highlighted how Asia’s debt markets have shifted — and how borrowers are positioning themselves for the rest of the year.

Is Deutsche Bank now a place of calm, steady, stable growth?

In this round-up, China’s securities regulator approves the consolidation of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s main board and the SME board, listed companies are required to update investors with information related to their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) efforts, and Beijing, Hong Kong and Macau further lay the foundation for a cross-border wealth management connect pilot scheme.

This week in Keeping Tabs: do investors want companies to fail on sustainability-linked bond targets? And what what happens to the economy under a Joe Biden presidency in the US?

In this round-up, Ant Group and the Chinese regulators have reportedly agreed on a restructuring plan that will see the online payments firm transform into a financial holding company, and MSCI rolls out two new indices tracking new economy companies in China.

If he can form a government that holds the demons of Italian politics at bay long enough to drag his country through the coronavirus pandemic, then Mario Draghi will have earned his laurels. But in Rome, glory has always been fleeting.

Nomura’s new chief executive is off to a strong start. Mark that down as a point for investment bankers.