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In this round-up, China announces draft regulations for its global systemically important banks, both manufacturing and services activity expand in September, and the regulator for corporate Panda bonds releases details for easier issuance.

This week in Keeping Tabs: investment strategy in the age of quantitative easing and a possible Joe Biden presidency in the US, while in the UK, financial firms are still adjusting to Brexit.

Colombia will become the first country to ever draw funds from an IMF flexible credit line (FCL), the Fund’s facility for its star pupils. In these exceptional times, Colombia should ignore any stigma associated with tapping IMF funding and be applauded for healthy pragmatism.

The ECB is mulling the idea of green Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations to boost green lending. It's a noble aim — but it should work with the policies it has first, if it is serious about environmental impact.

The country has made itself a beacon for overseas investors, compelled by favourable incentives and a large and dynamic domestic market.

Egyptian lenders are strongly capitalised, ensuring they are well placed to build for the future. Many are now looking to deliver more of their services digitally in the future.

Commercial International Bank (CIB) is well placed to prosper, despite some challenging global conditions. CIB chairman and managing director Hisham Ezz Al-Arab explains the bank’s strategy.

The European Investment Bank has had a long-standing and leading bond market franchise, but after reconfiguring its funding team in 2019 it has put in place a structure that readies it for future challenges.

When in March and April market circumstances swung from being most the attractive seen for years in terms of spread and coupon levels to what were the most challenging since at least the eurozone crisis, bank borrowers lost any certainty of market access for even the plainest unsecured debt. That environment suited JPMorgan, which had the size and skillset to pilot clients through the storm.

Few firms can match Rothschild & Co when it comes to the longevity of their client relationships — its oldest has endured for more than a century. In a business such as corporate debt advisory, in which relationships are crucial, that kind of lineage is an important advantage.

“There was no doubt in our minds that this was seismic,” says Mark Byrne, director, fixed income origination and syndication at TD Securities in London. He’s talking about the moment three years ago, when the UK Financial Conduct Authority confirmed plans to end the use of Libor in 2021.

The Covid-19 pandemic created one of the gravest global health and economic emergencies for a generation, requiring an unprecedented increase in issuance to fund the rapid response from sovereigns, supranationals and agencies.