If efforts to avert a deepening global recession are to succeed, support for global trade is vital, but banks that have avoided the consequences of the subprime crisis cannot carry the trade finance burden alone. Ashutosh Kumar, global head of trade product management at Standard Chartered Bank, outlines ways in which these banks can make further capacity available.
Barclays: has sold BGI for $13.5bnBarclays Bank has sold Barclays Global Investors to Blackrock for $13.5bn. The deal makes the US firm the largest investment manager in the world with more than $2700bn in assets under management - although it is estimated that it will only have up to 5% market share in the highly fragmented industry.
The financial crisis introduced the idea of banks that are not only too big to fail but, in some ways, too big to save. When their assets become multiples of the gross domestic product of even an advanced country, and when guaranteeing their liabilities threatens to bankrupt the nation, there is a legitimate political debate about the size of banks.
Paul Camp, global head of cash management financial institutions, global transaction banking, Deutsche BankBanks are under pressure to generate revenue, reduce costs and mitigate risks in the recession. At the same time, investment needs have never been higher. So which is the best way forward for banks attempting to meet client demands for cash management services?