Governance, Regulation & Compliance

Dear Reader
Deflation is one of the worst fears of central bankers and economists worldwide, but the risk it engenders isn’t always clearly defined.

Country Report | Bangladesh
Bangladeshi economic growth has been strong and relatively stable. But the country has a number of business climate challenges that must be addressed before it can reach its full potential as an investment magnet.

Trends | Credit Ratings
More than six years after the housing market crashed—dragging the world economy and stock markets down with it—Standard & Poor’s settled in early February with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its alleged part in triggering the meltdown. The price was relatively cheap, as these things go: $1.4 billion with no admission of wrongdoing.

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
Currency pegs around the world are threatening to come unglued following the Swiss National Bank’s surprise move to drop the exchange rate floor of the euro versus the Swiss franc.

Management | Foreign Direct Investment
FDI volumes are declining globally, as some national governments take a stronger stance against foreign ownership of their companies and land.
 

Newsmakers | Brazil
Aldemir Bendine became one of Brazil’s poster boys for success while at the helm of Banco do Brasil, but his new role as chief executive of the country’s oil giant, Petrobras, is causing him headaches.

Newsmakers | Greece
Following political party Syriza’s triumph in the recent Greek elections, Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, faces the most critical match of his career.

Cover Story
The decline in eurozone prices is the most dramatic example of deflationary pressures afflicting the globe. All eyes are now on European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and his efforts to reverse that trend.

Milestones | China
New legislation will lower the regulatory hurdles for foreign companies entering the Chinese market, but it is restricted to particular industries.

Global Salon
Global Finance sat down recently with Andrew Spindler, president and CEO of the Financial Services Volunteer Corps, which has spread the gospel of sound financial systems to the developing world for the better part of a quarter of a century.

McDonalds appointment of British-born Steve Easterbrook as its new CEO has both surprised and delighted analysts—concerned by the burger behemoth’s first annual decline in 30 years.

New Basel III liquidity rules for banks may force multinational corporate clients to hold more cash in local branches.

In a presentation in New York on February 18—his first official visit to the US since his appointment—Brazil’s Finance minister Joaquim Levy said that Brazilians are learning by doing.

Management | Shareholder Activism
A battle is heating up ahead of the DuPont’s annual shareholders meeting, planned for April.

Milestones | European Union
Regulators had Web giants like Google and Apple in their sites when they framed a new value-added tax (VAT) regulation for businesses selling digital products into the European Union
 

Special Report | SEPA
With SEPA migration projects mostly completed, it is time for treasurers to start thinking about the next steps in regulatory compliance and process automation.

United States | Newsmakers
After the Republican victory in the 2014 US midterm elections and an eight-year hiatus, Richard Shelby, a senior senator from Alabama, has taken over his old post as chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

Global Finance sat down with Murat Doğan Erden, Turkcell Group’s chief financial officer, to discuss the economic and business outlook for Turkey and the challenges confronting Turkish corporates.

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. 

Special Report | Global Transaction Banking 2015 Preview
Last year brought a vastly altered landscape for transaction banking—and the same is likely to be true of 2015. Regulatory reform and new developments in data analytics and mobile banking will drive change.