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US banks ramped up reserves for credit losses, expanded credit lines and enjoyed bumper trading and debt underwriting volumes in the first quarter, according to results released on Tuesday and Wednesday.

JP Morgan has taken an $820m writedown on its book of bridge loans, nearly halving its investment banking revenues for the first quarter. However, the bank is not hurrying to exit these positions. Chief executive Jamie Dimon said “a couple” of its bridges could be syndicated this quarter if conditions are supportive.

Speculation is building ahead of the International Monetary Fund spring meetings this weekend that the multilateral lender is poised to inject much-needed liquidity by printing billions of its own currency, Special Drawing Rights.

Reviews of key areas of legislation such as MiFID II, bank capital requirements and Solvency II have been pushed into the future, as the European Commission puts green and digital regulation first.

HSBC has overhauled the structure of its global banking business for the second time in as many years in a push to cut costs and bring its commercial and investment banking divisions closer together.

EU ministers finally managed to find agreement before the Easter weekend on a rescue package to help fund the bloc's response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But investors and analysts were far from convinced that critical debates about countries' ability to deal with the economic impact of the crisis and about the wider future of the EU have been settled.

The Federal Reserve’s decision to start purchases of high yield exchange traded funds and ‘fallen angel’ cash bonds has boosted the tone in European high yield, with syndicate bankers flagging an open market for the right names and sectors. But issuers remain on the sidelines, and dual-currency companies may opt to tap the dollar market instead.

The International Monetary Fund on Monday kicked off down the long road emerging market debt relief, giving six months’ waiver to 25 of its poorest members as calls grow for private sector involvement in the exercise.

The International Monetary Fund has doubled its emergency financial package for emerging and developing countries hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, its managing director said on Thursday, as she warned that the global economy would suffer its worst slump since the Great Depression.

The Single Resolution Board will take what it describes as a "forward looking" approach with banks that might struggle to meet their minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL), though it will also be sticking to its original deadlines for these targets.

Official financial lifelines to keep UK companies alive through the coronavirus pandemic are already having a tangible effect. Shares in Redrow, the UK housebuilder, rose 7.5% on Thursday morning after it announced it had been approved to borrow up to £300m from the Bank of England’s commercial paper facility for investment grade companies.

Centerview Partners has appointed ex-Lazard rainmaker Matthieu Pigasse as head of its new French operation, as the boutique advisory firm expands in continental Europe with a 15-strong team.