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NatWest Group said on Friday that the “reshaping” of its investment banking arm, NatWest Markets, would be largely complete by the end of the year, after it moved a further 500 staff out of NWM in the second quarter.

It has been an earnings season of rebounds. UBS, the first of the European investment banks to report its results for the second quarter of the year, used the word “rebound” three times in its earnings report, which it published on July 23. Since then, BNP Paribas has pointed to an “established rebound” in its results while HSBC has reported a “rebound” in profits in the US and Europe.

Berenberg has hired a fourth senior equity syndicate banker to cover France and southern Europe, amid big plans to expand its investment banking business, with new offices and teams in Brussels and Stockholm.

Bank of America has hired Uday Malhotra back from Goldman Sachs as head of leveraged finance origination in EMEA in London, while Eddie Martin, a managing director in the division, is relocating to the US.

Andrea Orcel is looking to clinch a deal for Unicredit to acquire parts of stricken Italian lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) in the early part of September after revealing it was negotiating with the Italian government.

Investment banks are broadening the search for talent and tweaking their recruitment message to attract and retain the bankers of the future, as working conditions and corporate culture emerge as hot topics after a difficult period for staff in the industry.

After several quarters of strong performance among European investment banking businesses, there are signs that firms are satisfied with cost cutting measures and are prepared to resume investment instead.

Lloyds Bank has formulated a succession plan to prepare for the departure of Allen Appen, its head of bond financing, as another senior figure prepares to leave its debt capital markets group.

The Loan Market Association (LMA) and the European Leveraged Finance Association (ELFA) jointly released a best practice guide for sustainability-linked loans on Wednesday. The guidance is aimed specifically at the leveraged loan market and stresses the importance of agreeing on clearly defined key performance indicators ahead of announcing a SLL.

Barclays has made several further promotions across its capital markets and M&A teams in London and New York, a week after rolling out a new global investment banking management structure.

Standard Chartered has launched an apprenticeship programme that is open to school leavers without academic qualifications as it seeks to bring more diversity to financial markets.

US-style Spac IPOs will soon be possible on the London Stock Exchange following a review by the Financial Conduct Authority, although the changes come at a time when the vehicles have fallen increasingly out of favour with investors.