Latin America

Newsmakers | Argentina
Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in early October triggered the resignation of the head of the country’s central bank, Juan Carlos Fabrega, by criticizing him for not reducing manipulation of the country’s currency. His replacement, Alejandro Vanoli, formerly the head of the country’s securities regulator, CNV, doesn’t look likely to set Argentina on a better path.

MILESTONES | LATIN AMERICA
In Latin America, the outlook for private equity and venture capital remains bright. Despite a 10% fall in investments during the first half of 2014, local and global players increased the amount of funds raised.

TRENDS | DIGITAL CURRENCIES
Ecuador is gearing up for the launch of a new digital currency that will go into use as early as October alongside the US dollar, the country’s official tender.

BRAZIL
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff will be running for a second term in October, and if she can keep her momentum going, there’s a good chance she’ll win.

TRENDS | SNAPSHOT: PANAMA

In this first installment of a two-part series, Global Finance identifies the top online corporate and consumer banks by country and then by region, according to product or service category.

ARGENTINA
The aftermath of Argentina’s so-called default on July 31 doesn’t at all resemble the catastrophe accompanying its earlier default in 2002, when the country was unable to repay $100 billion of debt and the economy collapsed, costing millions of jobs.

COLOMBIA
Juan Manuel Santos’ second term as president of Colombia might prove a bit harder than his first—and not only because he won this election with a lower majority.

SPECIAL REPORT: LATIN AMERICAN INVESTMENT BANKING
Small, but quite competitive, Latin America’s investment banking markets are upbeat this year, driven mainly by infrastructure growth.

NEWSMAKERS: PANAMA
Conservative Varela surprises with progressive social agenda.
 

COUNTRY REPORT
Although the hardships are far from over, the Spanish economy and banking system may finally be on the mend, with three components interrelating in a virtuous cycle: rebounding exports, rising consumer confidence, and a commitment to reform geared toward economic adjustments.

While Latin American banks continued to expand their client base and footprints, the sector still faced important challenges.

Brazilian Finance minister Guido Mantega may be dealing with both internal and external headwinds, but he—and Brazil—are still standing.

Recent economic reforms in Mexico and upgrades by rating agencies have strengthened Mexico’s position in global markets. The country’s economic performance is improving as well.

In our 21st annual survey, Global Finance identifies the best banks in 150 countries and eight regions. The winners are not always the biggest banks, but rather, the best—those with the qualities that corporations should look for when choosing a bank.

Infographic: A look at key figures affecting the economy and growth in Brazil.

ANNUAL AWARDS: HIGH-OCTANE YEAR Global investment banks will face a tremendous challenge as they strive to continue running their underwriting businesses at the elevated levels they reached in 2013. Many of the largest banks on Wall Street reaped a windfall ...

MILESTONES By Tiziana Barghini Ranked 91st by the World Economic Forum for the relatively poor quality of its infrastructure, Peru is gaining importance on the international stage for its ability to attract capital. Its economic growth is expected to surpass ...

EMERGING MARKETS ROUNDUP By Antonio Guerrero Brazil posted a net foreign exchange outflow of $12.3 billion for 2013, marking the first negative balance since the 2008 global financial crisis—putting paid to Brazilian Finance minister Guido Mantega’s claims that developed markets ...

MILESTONES By Tiziana Barghini Argentina has it tough. With GDP growth expected to fall to approximately 1.5% this year (compared with growth of more than 8% in 2011), foreign reserves at a seven-year-record low and an unofficial inflation rate well ...