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A first sign of whether the UK will choose to diverge from EU financial regulation after Brexit could come when mandatory buy-in rules enter into force. This is because the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has proposed postponing the rules that govern what happens when a securities trade fails until February 2021, after the Brexit transition period ends.

Interdealer brokers are facing potential disruption after a new platform, AiX, announced its intention this week to compete for their fees with artificial intelligence technology that aims to replace some of the functions of human brokers.

Société Générale grew revenues while keeping costs steady in its markets and investor services activities in the fourth quarter. Bondholders will have also welcomed a boost to the bank’s capital ratio.

Stephen Moss and Nuno Matos have been given new roles of responsibility for Europe at HSBC, ahead of expected restructuring of the group in that region, particularly in global banking and markets (GBM).

BNP Paribas expects to buck the trend of malaise at European investment banks and grow its revenues this year, it said in its fourth quarter results on Wednesday.

The Bank for International Settlements published a paper this week in which it suggested that supervisory authorities might need to introduce ‘prudential backstops’ to ensure that banks are valuing Level 3 assets appropriately.

Bank of America has appointed Snigdha Singh to head up its rates trading team for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

A hefty increase in revenues from rates and credit trading helped Deutsche Bank’s investment bank in the fourth quarter, but the division still made a loss.

New dynamics are appearing in the sustainability-linked loan market, as the product balloons and banks prepare for more intense scrutiny of their green lending activities. The trends highlight how unformed and confusing this young market still is, writes Jon Hay.

The European Central Bank has promised to undertake “shorter term” initiatives to move the eurozone closer to a Banking Union, conceding that member states were finding it challenging to implement the full long-term overhaul.

JP Morgan has hired William Vereker, former global co-head of investment banking at UBS and business envoy to former UK prime minister Theresa May, to be vice-chairman for investment banking in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Moody’s Investors Services has beefed up its coverage of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, naming a veteran analyst as its first global head of ESG.