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Marshall Bailey will be the next chair of the board of MUFG’s securities arm for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Payments start-up RTGS.global has hired Jim Cowles, former chief executive of Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Citi, to be an executive director of the board.

Hong Kong’s capital markets were left roiling this week as investors tried to grasp the significance of a new national security law. Some fund managers are jumping on opportunities amid the ensuing confusion, but other market watchers see the city losing its financial edge. Jonathan Breen reports.

Nomura is eyeing acquisitions and a change in chief executive promises a reboot of its investment banking ambitions, writes David Rothnie.

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.

The European Commission has published its proposal for an EU recovery fund. Next Generation EU, as it has been dubbed, has impressed onlookers with promises of €500bn of grants and a further €250bn of loans for countries affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

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.

Muddy Waters has fostered a fearsome reputation as a credible, thorough and forceful short seller whose explosive reports are a danger to anyone harbouring a stake in its intended target. Carson Block, its founder and chief investment officer, told GlobalCapital he has never been wrong about a company he’s shorted, though that doesn’t mean he’s made money from every position he has held. According to Block, monetary policies intended to stimulate markets through financial crises actually corrode them, and stifle accountability for serious failures in corporate governance.

The coronavirus crisis has reshaped urban living and working. It will also change the way financial firms operate over the longer term.

Deutsche Bank has become the latest big bank to announce a new sustainable finance target, with an eye-catching commitment to €200bn of financing between now and 2025 — but its policy highlights the difficulty for investors of comparing banks and deciding which are greener.