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As the coronavirus pandemic threatens every facet of capital markets activity, trading floors and back offices have emptied in recent days, leading to questions about how efficiently business can be done from home and alternative sites, write Paola Aurisicchio, Jasper Cox, Jennifer Kang and Ross Lancaster.

EU supervisors plan to ease the regulatory pressures on banks during the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing them to temporarily breach capital and liquidity buffers to carry on lending to the real economy.

Liquidity in corporate, financial and emerging market bonds has certainly been affected by the recent stress caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. But there has not been a catastrophic collapse. Participants say markets are still functioning, and some means of trading have benefited.

The European Union is set to make at least €25bn of budget funding available for sectors affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus, as its institutions join forces to tackle the economic impact of the outbreak. Rules on state aid and public finance will also be loosened, giving member states more room to launch fiscal stimulus measures.

One of the internal candidates to become the next permanent head of European M&A at RBC Capital Markets has quit to join a boutique.

Market participants are calling on European financial authorities to help banks deal with the impact of Covid-19. Forbearance could come in the shape of state guarantees or in the form of the relaxation of certain elements of bank capital requirements.

Banks have started splitting up trading teams across locations, while many of those working in the capital markets have been stuck at home. This has caused a couple of hiccups and worries but some wonder if it will lead to a shift in attitudes about meetings and work flexibility once coronavirus passes.

Can the capital markets function properly with its workforce operating remotely, whether from home or at disaster recovery centres? This question is becoming increasingly important as the Covid-19 infection rate rockets and the death toll grows. One organisation that has more experience of coping than most is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, based in Beijing.

Sustainable finance specialists are waiting eagerly to see the precise details of the European Union's Taxonomy of Sustainable Economic Activities, the next draft of which will be revealed on Monday.

The Bank of England may soon tweak its macroprudential policies and introduce a new funding scheme for banks to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic on companies. The measures would help lenders at a time when they could face pressure from lower rates and rising impairments.

Shares in guarantor loans company Amigo Holdings plunged more than 25% at the open on Thursday while its high yield bond, a 7.625% 2024, was marked down more than 30 points, as founder James Benamor quit the board, then published a lengthy blog post describing the company as "committing slow motion suicide". Amigo hit back quickly with a statement rejecting many of Benamor’s comments but prices failed to bounce back.

Thierry Roland has been picked to lead HSBC’s new RWA Optimisation Unit, where the bank will put assets that do not meet its return requirement.