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African MTNs may be on the verge of a boom. International banks are receiving an increasing number of reverse enquiries for privately placed MTNs, and these could finally provide African issuers with access to international bond markets in a size that suits them. Obstacles still remain but this business should be encouraged.

On the surface, the last few weeks has been a torrid one in the CEEMEA primary markets. A string of names postponed bonds, and one printed at a yield a whopping 150bp wide of initial price thoughts. But these events are not indicative of a foundering market — they are the result of investors taking realistic decisions about where they want to invest and at what price.

The latest round of grubby trader banter released into the world, with its trail of monster fines and possible criminal prosecution, should make everyone sit up and pay attention. The primary markets might be cleaner and more civilised than spot FX, but it won’t be enough just to say so.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the important parts of any financial conference typically take place off the stage rather than on it.

We all know that Chinese corporates like to act like a circus ringmaster, with banks running around them performing party tricks, jumping through flaming hoops and generally doing as they are told. There was some of that even when I was back in the business, but it was nothing like as bad as it is now.

Votes are rolling in to decide this year’s winners of the GlobalCapital Syndicated Loans and Leveraged Finance Awards. There is still time to complete the poll, but the deadline is fast approaching.

Bankers working on a loan for Promsvyazbank believe the hotly anticipated deal is imminent – and that it will do more to reopen the international market to Russian borrowers than Gazprom did with its bond last week.

Journalists sometimes have to choose between being fast and being right. The Financial Stability Board, with its Total Loss Absorbing Capacity (TLAC) plans, has chosen to be fast, and a weaker financial system will be the result.

Last week’s record falls for the rouble and diminishing hopes for a return of international banks to Russian lending in 2015 has put increasing focus on Russian banks to increase local market loans business next year.

In the course of our crusading financial journalising, Blog receives our fair share of odd messages from sources. One this week beat them all, however. We opened an email one morning which read simply: “Virgin, I am free.”

GlobalCapital has opened the poll to decide the winners of its Syndicated Loans & Leveraged Finance Awards. These awards are the only ones decided by the loan market itself and they are based solely on the public vote.

It’s the moment you have all been waiting for. More hotly anticipated than the reopening of the Russian loan market, GlobalCapital has opened the poll to decide the winners of its Syndicated Loans & Leveraged Finance Awards.