Anita Hawser

Cash is still king, and unlocking trapped cash or investing it for higher yield remains one of the major preoccupations of most corporate treasurers.

Market Report | Global Islamic Finance
Despite lower volumes in 2013, sukuk issuance is on track for a record year.

MARKET REPORT | ISLAMIC TRADE FINANCE
Offering inventory financing to commodity traders brings much-needed liquidity to the Islamic trade finance market.

Global Finance unveils its annual list of the  best banks globally, regionally and by country. The banking industry remains under stress, but there are bright spots.

Global Finance presents its annual report on the performance of the world’s central bank governors.

MILESTONES | UNITED KINGDOM
Technology derived from medical scanning is being used by a UK bank in the fight against cybercrime and identity fraud.

Inside Sibos | Review
At this year's event held in Boston, there seemed to be a greater sense of urgency among the banks about the need for change.

UNITED STATES
In its 2013 report to Congress, the Export-Import Bank of the United States says that its “overriding mission is to create and sustain American jobs by supporting US exports.” But that very mission is under threat, with House Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling, among others, seeking to abolish the bank.

The need for financing for supply-side firms continues to grow—particularly in emerging and frontier markets. More companies are looking to SCF to fill this gap.

ANNUAL AWARDS: BEST ISLAMIC FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 2014
Islamic finance is going mainstream, with new banks opening and new regulatory endeavors under way in this dynamic global mar

Malaysia’s strong current account and FX reserves will safeguard it against external shocks, but high leverage and simmering ethnic tensions remain weak points.

Given the spate of recent fines by UK and US regulators against banks for failure to comply with anti-money laundering regulations, it’s worth exploring the question of why the banks keep coming up short. The most recent headline was the ...

GOLD STANDARD By Rebecca Brace and Anita Hawser Global Finance presents the winners of its annual Best Treasury & Cash Management Providers awards. Global multinational corporates may have come out of the 2008 global financial crisis better off than the ...

NEWSMAKERS By Anita Hawser One woman who worked hard to ensure that the wheels of global trade kept turning, even in the midst of the global financial crisis, was Bonnie Galat, global head of business development for trade and supply ...

STAR PERFORMERS By Anita Hawser Over the past six years transaction banking has been one of the best performers in an otherwise lackluster banking sector. Even in the midst of a global financial crisis, suppliers and salaries still need to ...

SPECIAL REPORT By Anita Hawser To be or not to be? Compliant, that is. Apparently, the answer is it doesn’t matter—at least not yet. Just a few weeks before the February 1 SEPA deadline came to pass, the European Commission ...

SPECIAL REPORT: ISLAMIC TRADE FINANCE By Anita Hawser Islamic trade finance is of increasing interest, but whether it will be successful depends on market forces. “Shariah-compliant trade finance is an ancient tradition with a long history of supporting economic activity ...

TECHNOLOGY IS THE TRUMP CARD By Jonathan Gregson, Antonio Guerrero, Anita Hawser, Gordon Platt and Michael Shari Global Finance unveils its annual list of the best banks globally, regionally and by country. The winners have all demonstrated dedication to satisfying ...

‘A’ FOR EFFORT, ‘B-’ FOR RESULTS By Antonio Guerrero, Anita Hawser and Gordon Platt Global Finance presents its annual report on the performance of the world’s central bank governors. There are a lot of new faces among the world’s major ...

"It's almost as if the trade finance industry hasn't read the newspapers," says Dan Roberts. Roberts, global head of trade finance at Barclays, is talking about what some in the industry describe as an unsustainable situation in trade finance. Prices ...

REGIONAL SUPERSECTION — SEEKING A NEW MODEL By Anita Hawser As the infrastructure boom continues, it may be time for GCC countries to reevaluate how they select and fund new projects. “Abu Dhabi cannot rely solely on the auto when ...

Asia is often portrayed as a land of milk and honey, where liquidity and capital flow freely, and high levels of economic growth continue to attract foreign investors. But not all countries in Asia it seems are reaping the benefits ...

UNLOCKING HIDDEN POTENTIAL By Anita Hawser and Paula L. Green Global Finance presents the winners of its annual awards for the Best Supply Chain Finance Providers globally and by region. Five years have passed since the global financial crisis, when ...

By Anita Hawser and Paula L. Green NORTH AMERICA Citi In North America, Citi has closely aligned itself with government efforts to leverage supply chain finance as a means of funneling much-needed working capital to SMEs. It is a major ...

By Anita Hawser and Paula L. Green BEST SUPPLY-CHAIN FINANCE PROVIDER—BANK Citi Some of of the main prerequisites for a bank to be able to support supply-chain finance programs in different countries are its knowledge of local market regulations and ...

A DEFINING MOMENT By Anita Hawser Global Finance presents the winners of its awards for the World’s Best Islamic Financial Insititutions 2013. With Islamic banking assets predicted to pass the $1.1 trillion mark in 2012 and Islamic finance growing at ...

MILESTONES: EUROPE By Anita Hawser Billed as a major blow to the UK’s status as a global financial services hub, the European Parliament and council sent a clear message in February about bank bonuses, reaching an agreement that bankers’ bonuses ...

A FORK IN THE ROAD Moderated by Anita Hawser Key figures from the world of European subcustody discuss how regulation is affecting their business and changing relationships between global custodians and their network of subcustodians. Global Finance : What does ...

SHARING RISK By Anita Hawser Takaful insurance markets are growing steadily in the Gulf, but the regulatory framework is still developing in some countries. Taking out car, property or life insurance is second nature in the West, but in the ...

SYSTEMS AND SERVICES PROVIDERS By Anita Hawser and Rebecca Brace BEST TREASURY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND SERVICES PROVIDERS Accounts Payable Services BNY Mellon SourceNet Accounts Receivable Services SunGard AvantGard Receivables Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment Services Basware Payroll Services ADP Corporate ...

REGIONAL WINNERS By Anita Hawser and Rebecca Brace BEST TREASURY & CASH MANAGEMENT PROVIDERS 2013: REGIONAL WINNERS Best Overall Bank for Cash Management North America Bank of America Merrill Lynch Latin America Citi Western Europe Deutsche Bank Nordic Region SEB ...

GLOBAL WINNERS By Anita Hawser and Rebecca Brace BEST TREASURY & CASH MANAGEMENT PROVIDERS 2013: GLOBAL WINNERS Best Overall Bank for Cash Management Citi Best White Label System Provider BNY Mellon BEST OVERALL BANK FOR CASH MANAGEMENT Citi Citi provides ...

BEST IN SHOW By Anita Hawser and Rebecca Brace Global Finance presents the winners of its Treasury & Cash Management Providers Awards 2013. This year, we have expanded our evaluation process to include a survey of our corporate readers. For ...

MILESTONES: UK By Anita Hawser After four years under a shadow, the UK’s Financial Services Authority is once again being held up as a model financial regulator — both for its principles-based approach to reporting and for its ability to ...

FLYING BLIND By Anita Hawser Despite new entrants joining the market, the equity derivatives business saw a marked slowdown over the past year, and some well-established firms are now scaling back their operations. After the global financial crisis of 2007–2009, ...

MILESTONES: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES By Anita Hawser Dubai Mercantile Exchange is on a mission: It wants to take up more space on the screens of futures traders, according to new CEO Christopher Fix, who once sat on the other side ...

MILESTONES: EU By Anita Hawser The proposed Tobin Tax, or financial transaction tax (FTT), is a political hot potato that is being kicked around by various European countries in the wake of the global financial crisis as a means of ...

GRAND VISIONS By Anita Hawser Qatar has used its oil and gas wealth to finance its global ambitions. But its economy remains vulnerable to ever-present geopolitical tensions. For a small country, Qatar certainly punches above its weight on both the ...

COMING OF AGE By Anit a Hawser Islamic finance is starting to spread within the countries of North Africa with high Muslim concentrations. Any discussion of Islamic finance usually includes Islamic financial hubs such as Malaysia or the Gulf Cooperation ...

MILESTONES: UK By Anita Hawser The ongoing controversy surrounding Libor, the global benchmark interest rate used for pricing financial contracts, has sparked a wider debate about the merits of using alternative reference rates. The Bank of England was warned about ...

By Gordon Platt, Antonio Guerrero and Anita Hawser The Americas ARGENTINA Mercedes Marcó del Pont Grade: D Marcó del Pont has focused much of her efforts over the past year on imposing draconian foreign exchange restrictions. Controls began after last ...

By Gordon Platt, Antonio Guerrero and Anita Hawser ASIA-PACIFIC AUSTRALIA Glenn Stevens Grade: A Stevens has his hands full managing an economy with booming mining and financial sectors and weakness elsewhere. So far, he has managed to keep the overall ...

By Gordon Platt, Antonio Guerrero and Anita Hawser EUROPE BELARUS Nadezhda Ermakova Grade: C Ermakova assumed the chairmanship of the central bank in August 2011 under somewhat controversial circumstances. Her predecessor, Petr Prokopovich, retired against a backdrop of spiraling inflation ...

By Gordon Platt, Antonio Guerrero and Anita Hawser MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA ALGERIA Mohammed Laksaci Grade: C The central bank of Algeria, Africa’s second-largest oil producer, has kept its discount rate at 4% for the past few years to encourage ...

GUNNING FOR GROWTH By Gordon Platt, Antonio Guerrero and Anita Hawser Global Finance presents its annual report on the performance of the world’s central bank governors. Central banks of most of the major global economies are pulling out all the ...

NEWSMAKERS: UNITED KINGDOM By Anita Hawser Since its bailout after the 2008 financial crisis, Royal Bank of Scotland has come under pressure from the government to increase lending, and recent reports suggest the government is considering fully nationalizing the bank. ...

EXPEDITING GROWTH By Anita Hawser Trade flows between Latin America and Asia are growing at a phenomenal pace. An increasing number and variety of banks and other agencies are providing liquidity and trade finance solutions to nurture these flows. During ...

NEWSMAKERS: UK By Anita Hawser The recent Libor scandal in British banking highlighted the power play that is going on behind the scenes as candidates vie for the governorship of the Bank of England when Mervyn King's second five-year term ...

SEXY AND SOPHISTICATED By Anita Hawser Oiling the wheels of global trade has never been more important, particularly as regulation and capital constraints challenge banks' commitment to the business. Collaborative B2B platforms and investors are poised to play an enlarged ...

SUSTAINING THE MIRACLE By Anita Hawser Mike Rees, CEO, wholesale banking, Standard Chartered, discusses the risks and opportunities for emerging markets going forward, and China's economic transformation. Global Finance: What key events have shaped the current global economy? Mike Rees ...