Index-based structured products have grown in popularity since the financial crisis, as investors have sought flexible and bespoke ways to gain exposure to certain assets. And while the threat of tougher regulation looms, bankers are confident it will not slow down the market.
Cash management is growing in importance, but negative interest rates, the regulatory fallout from the financial crisis and an increasingly complex political landscape are colluding to make life difficult for transaction bankers and corporate treasurers.
Emerging market currencies benefited handsomely from the US central bank’s huge quantitative easing programme. With that now being unwound and with China slowing, emerging currencies are now in retreat. Those from economies with weak fundamentals are especially vulnerable.
Angola’s government has launched several initiatives to boost the country's non-oil sectors. Some of these, including a hike in import tariffs in March, have proved controversial, while the business environment remains tough by global standards. But investors think the country still has plenty going for it.
Islamic banking already has a strong presence in Kuwait. With a number of innovative lenders competing in the sector, and support and regulatory oversight from the country's central bank, it looks as though the industry can only become a more prominent fixture on the country's financial landscape.
Kuwait may lay claim to more than 5% of the world's total oil reserves, but without the expertise and equipment needed to tap into the bulk of this, and with strict rules prohibiting foreign help, the country is struggling to realise its energy potential.
With performance starting to pick up again in the Kuwaiti banking sector, and strong growth potential both in the domestic market and in neighbouring Iraq, the small country is finding itself the focus of a growing number of lenders, with competition among them growing fierce.
With the country's well-capitalised banking sector set to transition smoothly to Basel III standards and a positive macroeconomic outlook, central bank governor Mohammad Al-Hashel is able to concentrate on Kuwait's longer term prospects. He tells The Banker how he expects more growth in the Islamic banking sector and an increase in government spending, both of which will prove beneficial to the country's economy.