Banco Popular’s competitors may be gaining ground but the bank is still an attractive acquisition target. Chairman Angel Ron talks to Karina Robinson about strategies for SME and consumer finance business and why he is betting on staying independent.
Having been left in the dust of other countries racing to be at the economic forefront of the EU, Portugal is fighting back to reclaim its rightful place among the leaders in global investment, says Peter Wise.Since 1993 more immigrants, most of them from the Ukraine and other east European countries, have been arriving in Portugal each year than emigrants have been leaving.
Deutsche Bank’s successful euro issuance for Brazil helped the dollar market to rally, setting the stage for it to do subsequent dollar and euro deals for a diverse range of issuers. Sophie Roell reports.The Greeks may have won Euro 2004 but the Germans are firmly in the lead when it comes to euro issuance out of Latin America.
Austria’s Raiffeisen International (RZB) is in exclusive takeover talks with Ukraine’s second-largest commercial bank, Aval. “We are in talks that we have agreed will be mutual until May,” said the chief executive of Raiffeisen International, Herbert Stepic. “We want to take over the bank entirely.”
Germany’s medium-sized companies’ political clout has led to banks coming up with innovative capital-raising solutions for them, says Brian Caplen. Refusing to lend to the Mittelstand in Germany is the fastest route to bad publicity and political outcry. These small and medium-sized enterprises account for three quarters of output in Germany, higher than in most other western European economies where large firms dominate. What’s more, they have a large political voice.The fact remains, however, that lending to the Mittelstand at low margins does not make economic sense for banks, even if it makes good politics.