Karen Kroll

The US Best Regional Banks leapt to meet client and community needs through the year’s travails.

Last spring’s seize-up in the global M&A market eased as companies rethought their business plans and sought a leaner profile.

Business upheaval and historic volatility in capital markets let regional investment banks show they can arrange sophisticated deals as more companies look to buy and sell.

This year’s winners are ramping up the ability to tailor their offerings to specific audiences while offering global-quality, tech-enabled services.

Banks across the US have been making moves, cutting deals and merging. Global Finance announces the country’s best regional investment banks.

With deal volume easing, global advisers are looking to new themes like environmental, social and governance criteria and strategic resets by companies seeking new markets and efficiencies.

The risks highlighted by executives fell roughly into three categories: macroeconomic; strategic; and operational.

James Jack, Head Of The Business Owners Client Segment in the Americas for UBS Global Wealth Management, named Best for Business Owners, speaks with Global Finance about how the bank serves successful entrepreneurs.

Ownership of the world's largest companies is increasingly concentrated in fewer and fewer hands.

Mary Callahan Erdoes is CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset and Wealth Management, which won Best Private Bank in the World this year. She speaks with Global Finance about how the bank is adapting to new technologies and new clients—and busts some of the myths about private banking.

New tools and partnerships are expanding what regional banks can offer, and they still shine for local expertise. 

One reason that more regional banks—including Global Finance’s 2018 winners—are merging and being acquired is that they themselves are advising on more M&A deals.

Economic expansion, economic jitters, and restructuring across industries made 2018 a big year for Global Finance’s Best M&A Banks.

Tapodyuti Bose, global head of Channels and Enterprise Services for Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions, talks about how consumers are driving changes in corporate banking, and how Citi collaborates with both fintechs and clients.

Although 2016’s frothy market didn’t repeat, regional M&A advisors in the US aren’t complaining about 2017.

Economic and political factors could force companies to put acquisition plans on hold, making for an unpredictable 2018. But this year’s Best M&A Bank winners are still optimistic about future growth prospects.

Adam Walendziewski, director of digital platforms agile centre ING bank slaski, a digital bank of distinction this year, tells global finance about the ways the bank promotes a ‘digital first’ strategy.

Writer Gordon Platt talks about Innovation with Sankar Krishan of CapGemini.

Reknowned economist James K. Galbraith, one of our expert panelists, pulls no punches in talking about the damage wrought by financial innovation

Details on the winners of Global Finance Magazine’s 2017 awards for best boutique investment banks. 

Antoine Jacquemin, deputy head for Western Europe with Societe Generale, discusses strategies for hedging foreign exchange risks.

Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy with Brown Brothers Harriman, discusses how major world events are impacting currency markets.

Gulf nations are the latest in the growing number of countries implementing value-added taxes (VAT) on goods and services.
 

Serhat Yıldırım, senior vice president of digital banking at Akbank, talks about mobile banking advances in Turkey.

Jeff Marshall, head of the digital factory at Scotiabank, talks about the dramatic change in how customers interact with banks.

Blockchain, the Cloud and the Internet of Things are luring trade finance away from its reliance on paper.

Tax Reporting & Compliance
The OECD’s “Base Erosion and Profit Shifting” principles are being incorporated into tax laws in some nations, requiring more transparency from corporate treasury departments.

What challenges are top of mind among treasurers in the Asia-Pacific region? 

Global Finance: What impact is regulation having on treasury operations? Shahrokh Moinian: A starting point was Basel III. Some banks need to reshape their balance sheets, which potentially leads to higher costs of borrowing for corporations. In reality, large corporations ...

Taxation | Capital Markets
In December 2015, 10 European Union members agreed on key aspects of a harmonized financial transaction tax (FTT).

With interest rates bottoming and the market jittery, treasurers are seeking more unconventional and versatile means for managing stockpiled war chests of liquidity.

Card Processing | The United States is slowly catching up to the rest of the world in transaction processing, shifting from mag-stripe to more secure EMV payment cards.

Dick Oskam, global head of sales for transaction services, ING, talks virtual bank accounts and blockchain technology.

Gregory Malosh, managing director and head of information and liquidity products, BNY Mellon, explains why banks find outsourcing good business.

Management | Compensation
Gap Accounting: Some five years and 287,000 comments after the pay-ratio disclosure rule was included in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued the final regulation in August.

SIBOS Supersection 2015 | Bank Relationship Management
Basel III and other regulatory developments are causing a sea change in bank-corporate relationships. It is up to corporate treasurers to lead that process.

SIBOS Supersection 2015 | Bank Relationship Management
Along with understanding the value they provide their banking partners, most companies want to know what they’re spending in banking fees each year, and how this compares to the contracted rates. Bank-fee analysis software can automate the process.

Special Report | U.S. Transaction Banking
Dealing with the regulatory complexities faced by their larger peers and without some of the flexibility of their smaller brethren, US regional transaction banks are building international partnerships and investing in best-of-breed technology platforms in order to win, and hold on to, corporate clients.

Special Report | Global Payments
When it comes to enriching corporate card programs, the focus is on technologies and policies that can boost efficiency, visibility and controls.

Management | Metrics
Corporations and analysts turn to scores of metrics—return on assets, working capital and others—to determine a company’s financial health. Another, the ratio of debt to internal funds, is one of the most widely used benchmarks. But a new study suggests that the debt-to-funds ratio isn’t all that accurate in predicting or explaining default risk.

Market Analysis | Trade Finance
The outlook for trade finance in North America appears modestly positive. “Growth will be more in line with global GDP,” says Chris Lewis, executive vice president and group head, international trade services, Wells Fargo.

Market Analysis | Supply Chain Finance
Trade agreements, falling commodity prices, economic growth and Basel III are among the issues that are top of mind for many experts in banking and trade finance in Asia.

Regulation | Management
In October the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project released a report outlining its progress on a series of steps it was taking to combat tactics—often legal but ethically questionable—used by many multinational companies to reduce or eliminate tax liabilities across their operations. 

SIBOS SUPERSECTION 2014 | SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE
New SCF solutions are offering a range of tools to help suppliers manage working capital and diversify funding sources.

RISK MANAGEMENT By Karen Kroll Corporate life and pensions insurance is regaining strength as economic conditions improve. The US market for corporate- and bank-owned life insurance (COLI and BOLI, respectively) and corporate supplemental pension plans—or “top hat” plans—are once again ...

STICKING TO THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW   By Karen Kroll   Companies continue to bank on safety and security in managing liquidity and investments.   At the end of this year’s first quarter, cash and short-term investment balances among the ...

By Karen Kroll Many of the 19 Francophone countries of Sub-Saharan Africa–that is, those whose citizens speak French and who were otherwise influenced by France, most likely as colonies–currently occupy the bottom of The World Bank’s Doing Business ranking . ...

GOING GLOBAL AND MOBILE By Karen Kroll   Companies are increasingly using e-payments and looking at mobile channels. But moving money electronically cross-border can still be an issue.   The ways in which organizations are paying their suppliers and business ...

BUILDING IN RESILIENCE   By Karen Kroll   Creating a flexible, robust supply chain is key to reducing the likelihood and potential impact of disruptions.   Effectively managing supply chain risk, while always important, is becoming increasingly critical. Companies are ...

A HOUSE OF CARDS   By Karen Kroll   Companies are consolidating purchasing and expense card programs and are starting to extend programs globally. But gaining supplier acceptance still remains challenging.   As companies’ supply chains become increasingly multinational, a ...