North America

Global Finance unveils its annual list of the best banks globally, regionally and by country. The winners have provided the best service to clients.

Global Finance’s annual evaluation of the work of the world’s central bankers found some stellar performances, and some dismal ones. The toughest challenge for many: propping up falling prices.

Executive Management | In light of a shareholders’ vote on September 22 as to whether Bank of America chief executive officer Brian Moynihan should remain chairman as well, the debate about whether the two roles should be separate rages on in the United States.

What’s irking central bankers is not that they have bought too many stocks or bonds. Rather, it’s that they haven’t bought enough.

Table Of Contents

Central bank heads were once a predictable and conservative lot. Now they’re swooping in, buying huge amounts of securities and rolling out unorthodox policies to avert danger.

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.

Against the backdrop of a lackluster economy, Canadian voters will head to the polls on October 19—and it’s no shoe-in for incumbent prime minister Stephen Harper.

Management | Leadership Challenge
Nearly two out of three chief financial officers worldwide aspire to become chief executives of their company, but relatively few succeed in occupying the corner office.

Global Salon
At this point, it’s pretty much assumed that hackers are going to break into corporate computer networks. Global Finance talked with Michael Morris, chief Technology Officer of root9B, which offers cybersecurity services to corporate and government entities, about the war on digital attackers—and how businesses can retake some ground.

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

In the midst of a radical overhaul of its operations, Procter & Gamble will undergo a key leadership change in the fall. As of November 1, company insider David Taylor will take over as CEO from A.G. Lafley, who has held the position from 2000 to 2009 and from 2013 to the present.

The industry retrenches, redefining networks in response to client needs 

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.

Trends | Crowdfunding
With traditional lenders facing stricter liquidity requirements as a result of the global financial crisis, crowdfunding is becoming an increasingly appealing source of financing for corporates.

Newsmakers | United States
An important C-suite reshuffle is taking place in the world of social networking sites, and it may offer a glimpse into the future of the industry as a whole.

Corporate Cash | Money Market Funds
Despite plenty of corporate pushback, the SEC’s controversial money market reform will be more headache than hardship for corporate investors.      

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.

Capital Markets | Mergers & Acquistions
Boutique investment banks are eating the lunch of Wall Street’s bulge-bracket firms.

Trends | US Dollar/Corporate Earnings
As corporate guidance goes, it was not the most upbeat news ever.