People & Markets

  • Lenders make less money despite Covid-19 loan boom

    Lenders make less money despite Covid-19 loan boom

    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.

    28 May 2020
  • Crisis Talk — Carson Block, CIO of Muddy Waters: ‘If capitalism breaks, it’s capitalists who broke it’

    Crisis Talk — Carson Block, CIO of Muddy Waters: ‘If capitalism breaks, it’s capitalists who broke it’

    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.

    27 May 2020
  • Crisis Talk — with Samaila Zubairu, CEO of the AFC

    Crisis Talk — with Samaila Zubairu, CEO of the AFC

    Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the Nigeria-based multilateral development bank (MDBs), has emerged at the forefront of regional coronavirus rescue efforts, providing financing for emergency hospitals, medical aid and more. As Africa finds itself at the centre of global calls for emergency financing and debt relief, the AFC’s chief executive, Samaila Zubairu, talks to GlobalCapital about the bank’s response to the crisis, how its own fundraising plans have been affected, and the future of Chinese capital in the region.

    26 May 2020
  • People moves in brief

    People moves in brief

    Citi picks Nick Darrant as syndicate head — And it sets up new sustainability and science units — JP Morgan reveals next layer of DCM, ECM and M&A bosses

    21 May 2020

  • Deutsch said to exit SMBC

    Isaac Deutsch, who led Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation's Americas specialized finance division between 2012 and 2018 before becoming the firm's deputy Americas CEO, is said to have departed from the bank earlier this week.

    21 May 2020
  • New UK insolvency law puts secured creditors in the firing line, Travelodge to be first test

    New UK insolvency law puts secured creditors in the firing line, Travelodge to be first test

    The new UK insolvency law, introduced into the British parliament on Wednesday, will allow unconsenting creditor classes, including secured creditors, to be crammed down during a restructuring. This could mean bondholders and banks, rather than landlords, take more of the pain in the coming wave of corporate distress. Hotel chain Travelodge is likely to be one of the first major companies to use the new rules.

    21 May 2020
  • Credit funds said to see opportunity in UK SME loan scheme

    Credit funds said to see opportunity in UK SME loan scheme

    Credit hedge funds are looking to finance books of SME loans originated under the UK government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), subscribing for the equity in private securitization vehicles backed by the loans. The government guarantees are likely to improve the financing terms on offer, boosting returns for funds that can access these assets — but there are still questions over the details of the scheme.

    21 May 2020
  • Banks going green: if you’re going to lead, lead

    Banks going green: if you’re going to lead, lead

    Banks want to position themselves as ahead of the curve on sustainability. They are among the most sophisticated, well resourced, IT-savvy organisations in the world. Why can't they work out the carbon footprints of their portfolios?

    19 May 2020
  • Office reopening poses serious risks, with or without virus testing

    Office reopening poses serious risks, with or without virus testing

    Without a vaccine for the coronavirus, it is clear that reopening offices is a serious risk for capital markets businesses. What firms need are strict distancing measures, facial masks and hand sanitiser — but also, crucially, access to frequent testing for the virus and the antibody.But that is a path fraught with difficulty.

    19 May 2020
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