Since the onset of the financial crisis, Europe-based international banks such as HSBC and Santander have been scaling down operations in Latin America. This has created myriad opportunities for emerging regional financial players, which have lost no time in filling the gaps left by the European retreat.
The Asian city state of Singapore attracted more foreign investment in its financial sector than any other IFC in the world over the past year. Geneva, Edinburgh and Glasgow were notable risers in the ranking, while troubled Madrid lost significant ground.
International banking groups have traditionally been the main players in Central America but as markets begin to grow, in nearby Colombia in particular, local lenders are increasing their profits, acquiring foreign-owned subsidiaries and establishing a greater presence in the market.
Out of the top five international financial centres with the largest aggregate volume of bank assets, a mix of European, Asian and North American centres occupy the top places in both the ranking that considers bank holdings incorporated in a certain jurisdiction, and the one of foreign-owned subsidiaries operating in the centre.
Despite volatility in equity capital markets the world over, Brazil continues to make a compelling investment case. And in 2012, twice as many new names are expected to debut on Bovespa than did in 2011, driven by the consumer and infrastructure sectors. For international banks wanting to win mandates competition will be tougher than ever, as Brazilian players continue to dominate the equity market.
Itaú BBA International has outlined a new strategy that leverages both its global presence and its Latin American expertise. Its head of corporate banking for North America, Europe and Asia, Renato Lulia-Jacob, explains why in an increasingly globalised and competitive market, the bank has chosen to position itself in this way.
Foreign direct investment into the eurozone’s financial centres has been in decline since the onset of the region’s crisis. However, thanks to some encouraging government policies, Dublin has defied the trend, attracting its highest ever level of FDI in 2011.
With Colombia's GDP expected to rise by 5% for both 2011 and this year, and a growing sense of optimism across the country, president Juan Manuel Santos explains why he is buoyant over the future of a country once dogged by corruption and drug trafficking.
Foreign direct investment into the eurozone's financial centres has been in decline since the onset of the region's crisis. However, thanks to some encouraging government policies, Dublin has defied the trend, attracting its highest ever level of FDI in 2011.
Brazilian infrastructure is in desperate need of investment if it is to support the country's growing economy. But with restrictions on foreign investment, limited public and domestic funding and opposition to further development from environmentalists, taking advantage of the plethora of opportunities in this sector is not straightforward.
Caught between the reputational damage inflicted to the world of finance by the financial crisis and the overwhelming regulatory response to it, international financial centres the world over are being faced with a number if challenges very different to those they have faced before.
As the US and the EU focus on regulating different areas of the financial services industry, there is a temptation among financial institutions to relocate certain operations in order to evade strict new rules coming into play in certain jurisdictions. So is over-regulation posing a threat to the traditionally dominant international financial centres?
Despite all the talk of emerging economies overtaking the traditional international financial centre powerhouses of New York and London, the big two remain in the top positions in The Banker's ranking. However, the challengers to this crown are still making ground.