Banker, The

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Articles in November, 2005 issue of Banker, The

• Bracken: Three Threats To The Rosy Picture - Banks Have Been Having A Good Run But The Critical Challenge Is To Find Future Top Line Growth, Says John Tiner.
• This Month: Bottom Line - Foreign Banks' Domination Of Bulgaria Set To Continue.
• Western Europe: Spain - Banks Feel Effects Of Cajas' Success - Opposition Is Mounting To The Privileged Position Of Spain's Ultra Successful Savings Banks, Says Jules Stewart.
• Americas: St Kitts And Nevis - Big Plans For A Small State - St Kitts And Nevis Is Taking Steps To Sustain Stable Growth, Benefit From Regional Integration And Develop The Financial Sector. Prime Minister Denzil Douglas Talks To James Eedes.
• Special Supplement: Basel II - A Starring Role For Market Discipline - Market Discipline Should Be Used To Lower The Risk Of Arbitrary Supervisory Discretion In The Implementation Of Pillar 2 Of The Basel II Accord. Professor Harald Benink Addresses The L
• Special Supplement: European Mortgages - Whole Loan Sales Head Through Roof - Trade In Whole Mortgage Loans Is Brisk In The UK, While Germany And The Netherlands Show Potential, But The Booming European Market's Main Player Is American. Michael Marray Rep
• This Month: News - Chicago IPO Well Received.(Brief Article)
• Capital Markets: Team Of The Month - UBS Adds Gleam To GECC's Golden Touch - When Triple A Rated GECC Decided To Issue A 32-year Subordinated Note, It Chose UBS To Ensure The Success Of This Groundbreaking Deal. Nick Kochan Reports.
• Americas: Mexico - Confidence in Mexico is Hard To Shake - As The Main Political Parties Choose Their Candidates For Next Year's Presidential Election, Monica Campbell Reports On The Contenders, And Prospects For The Economy And Investment If They Succeed
• page 30 BNK Middle East & Africa: Algeria - Oil Revenues Aid Recovery - Algeria Is Working Hard To Recover From Years Of Civil War. Its Twin Aims Of Social Reconciliation And Fiscal Reform Include Restructure Of The Financial Services Sector. James Ee
• Technology: Trading Timebomb Is Ticking - New Technology Is Needed To Keep Pace With The Speed And Volume Of Credit Derivatives Trades. The First Step Must Be For All The Players In The Market To Buy Into The Need For Change, Says Dan Barnes.
• Comment: Basel II Risks Failure Without The US On Board - If The US And Europe Cannot Agree On A Common Capital Adequacy System, The Idea Of A Level Playing Field Will Become A Vain Hope.
• This Month: People.(EU internal market commissioner Charlie McGreevy)(Hugh Scott-Barrett joined ABN AMRO Bank N.V. )(Brief Article)
• Cash & Securities Services: Buy-side Ignores MiFID At Its Peril - The EC's Markets In Financial Instruments Directive Will Affect Buy-side Firms From April 2007, Obliging Them To Create A Policy For Best Execution. But As Dan Barnes Reports, Many Of T
• Americas: Barbados - In Defence Of Unorthodox Economic Strategies - Barbados Premier Owen Arthur Tells James Eedes What Lies Behind His Economic Policies, Which He Continues To Follow Against The Advice Of The IMF.
• Special Supplement: Basel II - Get The Rules Right - As US Concerns Over Minimum Regulatory Capital Requirements Come Late In The Day, The Basel Committee Must Seriously Consider Delaying Implementation, Says John D Hawke Jr.
• Regulation: More Accounting Rules - Proposed By The Committee Of European Banking Supervisors, Translated From Officialese By Michael Imeson.
• This Month: News - Main News - BBVA Seeks Bigger Footprint In US And Spain.(Brief Article)
• Cover Story: Why RBS needs spin - Despite A Meteoric Rise To Global Powerhouse, The RBS Board Has Managed To Transform Itself From Darling To Demon In The Eyes Of Its Shareholders. Geraldine Lambe Charts The Bank's Fall From Grace.(Royal Bank of Scotland)
• Western Europe: Capital Requirements Directive - Spreading The Word - Fifteen Months After The Basel II Framework Was Published, The European Commission Has Turned It Into A New Law - The Capital Requirements Directive. Michael Imeson Reports On The Trans
• Middle East & Africa: Saudi Arabia - Saudi's New Bond Market Beckons - The Pace Of Saudi Capital Market Reform Is Quickening, With The Establishment Of A Secondary Market In Government Bonds, Write James Gavin And Jon Marks.
• Retail Banking: Microfinance - A Broader Remit For Microfinance - The Middle East Is Enjoying An Investment Boom But Risks Leaving The Poor Further Behind. Microfinance Can Help To Improve Their Prospects But It Will Take More Than Loans Alone. Rula Dabab
• Special Supplement: European Mortgages - Hunt For Diverse Funding Base - As A Result Of Home Ownership Demands From A Burgeoning Middle Class, Banks In Central And Eastern Europe Are Seeking New Sources Of Mortgage Financing - And US And European Asset-ba
• This Month: News - Refco To Sell Futures Arm.(Brief Article)
• Capital Markets: Issuer Strategy - Quality Pays Off For Gazprombank - Investors Are Falling Over Themselves To Buy Bonds Issued By Russia's State- owned Gazprombank. Edward Russell-Walling Explains Why.
• Asia: Hong Kong - Stepping Stone Into China - Karina Robinson Reports From Hong Kong On The Incorporated Banks' Mainland China Strategies.
• Middle East & Africa: Jordan - Focus On Governance And Consolidation - As Jordanian Banks Report An Upturn, More Attention Is Being Paid To Consolidation, Governance And Product Range In Efforts To Strengthen The Sector, Writes Selwa Calderbank, With
• Technology: Tech Vision - Rene Querret - Societe Generale's Chief Information Officer Rene Querret Tells Dan Barnes Why The French Bank Is Increasingly Using Third-party IT Providers And Of The Complications That Can Occur.
• Comment: Deutsche's Smart Buys Reaffirm Retail Ambition - The German Bank Is Ramping Up Its Retail Strategy By Acquiring Small Banks - But Is Avoiding Shopping At Home.
• This Month: People - Sir John Puts Testing Times Behind Him.(Bank of England)(Brief Article)
• FX & Derivatives: Confidence Building - Together With A Growing Band Of Property Sector Professionals, Bankers Are Working To Kick-start The Fledgling Property Derivatives Market. In This Second Article On The Subject, Natasha De Teran Explores The Ma
• Americas: Brazil - Bovespa Index Will Chart Corporate Behaviour - As Interest In Socially Responsible Investment Increases In Brazil, The Stock Exchange Plans An Ethical Index That Will Track Responsible Companies.
• Special Supplement: Basel II - Ease The Path To Compliance - Banks Can Make Their Basel II Compliance Journey Easier If They Know Which Stage They Are At, What Problems They Are Likely To Face And What Solutions They Can Rely On. Arun Pingaley And Kiran N
• Technology: Statistics - BPM Software Spend Continues.
• Viewpoint: A Losing Battle - The World's Biggest Illegal Industry Is Money Laundering, Which Is On The Rise Despite Government Efforts To Curb The Activity. Moises Naim Evaluates The Consequences In Today's Financial World.
• Karina's Kolumn: Arnold's Post-Abbey Ponderings - Former Abbey CEO Luqman Arnold Tells Karina Robinson About His Future Plans And Why It Is Important To Take Time Out Occasionally.(Interview)
• Western Europe: Spain - Beyond Mere Profit Maximisation - Juan Ramon Quintas, Chairman Of The Confederacion Espanola De Cajas De Ahorros, Spain's Savings Banks Federation, Tells Jules Stewart About The Benefits Of Being Mutual.(Interview)
• Middle East & Africa: Top 100 Arab Banks - Arab Banks Set To Smash Profits Record Again - Runaway Profits At Arab Financial Institutions Show No Signs Of Slowing Down, As This Year's Top 100 Proves.
• Special Supplement: Basel II - A Chance To Win Business Benefits - Ravi Varadachari Explains How Banks That Plan To Comply With Basel II's Advanced Approaches Can Use Them For Strategic Decision Making, Such As Capital Allocation For Individual Lines Of B
• Special Supplement: European Mortgages - Innovative Techniques For Funding - European Lending Institutions Are Increasingly Using Securitisation And The Covered Bond Market In Tandem As A Means Of Reaping The Advantages Of The Different Tools. Natasha De.
• This Month (November 2005): RBS Proves There Is No Success Unless You Put Spin On It.(Royal Bank of Scotland)
• This Month: People - BankMuscat First To List GDRs In London.(global depository receipts)(Brief Article)
• Capital Markets: Taking Issue - Barclays Capital Gives A Reality Check On An Outdated Model; CSFB Makes A Loyal Friend For Brazil; And Merrill Has A Plan To Avoid Past Mistakes. Brian Caplen Reports.
• Americas: Argentina - Investment Grade In Reach? - Argentina's Economic Revival Is Building Confidence In Its Ability To Clinch Investment Grade In A Few Years' Time. Jason Mitchell Reports From Buenos Aires.
• Middle East & Africa: Nigeria - Tough Regime Starts To Pay Off - Nigeria's Central Bank Governor Charles Soludo Is Pushing Through Reforms Designed To Strengthen The Banking Sector And Is Seeing Results. James Eedes Reports.
• Technology: Shaping Tomorrow - Stop Complaining, Get Training - Customer Complaints Cost Banks Dearly In Loss Of Loyalty And Client Profits. In Some Cases The Banks Only Have Themselves To Blame For Encouraging Thoughtless Responses To Customers' Concerns
• This Month: News - Deutsche Heads Into Asia.
• Capital Markets: Agenda - Michael Klein - Michael Klein, CEO Of Global Banking At Citigroup, Tells Brian Caplen That Gaining Corporate Client Trust Requires The Bank's Senior Advisers To Position Themselves As Peers Of The CEOs And Boards With Which They.
• Central & Eastern Europe: Russia - Rossisky Resurrection - Rossisky Kredit Bank Nearly Went Under In Russia's 1998 Financial Crisis. Ben Aris Reports From Moscow On How It Weathered The Storm And Its Miraculous Comeback As An Investment Bank.
• Middle East & Africa: Kuwait - Mood Of Confidence Permeates The Market - Foreign Banks Are Arriving In Kuwait At Last, Just As The Bank Of Kuwait And Middle East Takeover Signals The Domestic Market's Renewed Attraction, Writes Paul Melly.
• Retail Banking: Biometrics Make Inroads - Although Not Yet In General Use, Biometrics Are Slowly Being Tested And Adopted In The Banking Sphere As A Way Of Increasing Security, Wendy Atkins Reports.
• Special Supplement: European Mortgages - Without Frontiers - The European Commission Wants To Boost Efficiency In The Mortgage Market By Creating A Single European Market For The Sector. But Care Needs To Be Taken In Establishing Such A Market, Which Must
• This Month: News - BBVA Battles Bid For BNL.(Brief Article)
• Capital Markets: Insurance Firms Gain A Sense Of Security - Insurance-linked Securities Have Raised The Interest Of A New Swathe Of Investors And Are Providing A Source Of Capital Along With Increased Financial Flexibility For Insurers. Michael Marray Rep
• Central & Eastern Europe: Belarus - Overcautious Approach May Impede Progress - President Alexander Lukashenko's Tight Controls Have Ensured That Belarusians Have Not Suffered In The Slow Transition To A Market Economy. But The Same Restrictions Are C
• Middle East & Africa: Lebanon - Political Events Mark Transitory Year - Highly Capitalised And With Abundant Liquidity, Lebanon's Top-tier Banks Remain Optimistic About Their Prospects Despite Difficult Political Circumstances, Writes James Gavin With
• Technology: The ATM Story Is Far From Over - Some Banks Are Outsourcing Their ATM Function To Increase Margins But Others Are Still Looking For Ways To Offer New Transactions At Their Machines. Dan Barnes Reports On The Latest Developments.