Speaking to Bloomberg, Eric Arnould, Global Head of Equity Capital Markets at Natixis, comments on Europe’s largest fundraising deals coming from bonds that can convert into equity and investors betting that the underlying stock will jump 50% or more in the next few years.

“Exposure to equity, coupled with volatile equity indexes and stabilization of credit spreads, is likely to spur even more convertible bond issuance in the second half of the year”, explains Arnould.

To read more, please click here.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has released its 2020 Global Survey on Trade Finance, revealing that banks are optimistic about the evolving nature of trade finance, though unsurprisingly expect various industry-wide challenges and disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

In turn, ICC also conducted a supplementary COVID-19 survey to understand banks’ sentiment regarding the initial impact of the pandemic on trade finance, with banks across geographies reporting an average 0-10% decrease in their trade flows in the first quarter of 2020, and most expecting at least a 20-30% decline for the full year.

“Trade is fundamentally important to global economic health, growth and development, and is even more critical in times of crisis,” says Alexander Malaket, Chair of the ICC Global Survey on Trade Finance. “This latest edition of the report makes an important contribution to raising the quality and thoughtful character of the discourse on international trade and trade financing.”

The news was covered by The Paypers, TMI, TRF news, Trade Finance Global, Ledger Insights, TXF news, TXF news, Business Money, Hellenic Shipping News, GTR, CTMfile, Financial IT, The Asset, The Currency Analytics.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Karen Degouve, Head of Sustainable Business Development at Natixis, talks about investors becoming increasingly concerned about the financial risks emerging from biodiversity loss and destruction of ecosystems.

Natixis has set a biodiversity investment target of €2bn for its asset management affiliates, but it is still early days for investors in this area. “They need to realise that it’s the same as climate change for natural capital loss”, says Degouve. “It is going to threaten the world’s economic stability at some point, and ultimately the survival of human beings.”

To read the full article, please click here.

Moorgate-Finn yesterday released the first edition of its newsletter, pooling some of its best insights on the banking and finance sectors. The articles look at why financial communications is crucial not only during the coronavirus crisis but also as financial services pivots towards a sustainable future.

Saving banks (from themselves)

Why banks are pivotal in a better, more sustainable world post-COVID

Staying ahead of the curve: bank messaging during the pandemic

Trust me, I am a Social Media Company

Media training 2.0: the rise and rise of videoconferencing

ESG Reports: An important tool for public & private companies alike

Case study: Encouraging a sea-change in global shrimping

 

Jorge Masalles Sarragúa has been appointed as CEO of Commerzbank Iberia, taking over responsibility for both Commerzbank’s Spanish and Portuguese corporate clients. Born in Barcelona, Masalles Sarragúa has been with Commerzbank for more than twenty years, holding a series of senior corporate banking and capital markets roles. Most recently, he was Divisional Head in charge of International Sales in Equity Markets & Commodities (EMC) as well as Head of EMC London.

“Commerzbank Iberia’s ambition is to be the banking partner of choice internationally operating  Spanish and Portuguese companies. Our international presence, combined with our in-depth sector knowledge and comprehensive offering of corporate banking solutions, means we are well-placed to achieve this,” says Masalles Sarragúa upon his appointment.

News of the appointment featured in 48 news outlets in total, including TXF, Global Capital and IFR in the English-speaking press, Cinco Días, Expansión and El Confidencial in the Spanish press as well as Dinheiro Vivo and Executive Digest in Portuguese.

 

On June 18^th, Natixis hosted a virtual renewables investor conference, co-moderated by Eric Arnould, Natixis’ Head of Equity Capital Markets, and GlobalCapital’s Sam Kerr. In light of the COVID-19-induced recession, there have been widespread hopes for a green recovery, and no sector is more important to that aspiration than renewable energy. In turn, the virtual panel discussion was centred on the desirability of renewable power, banks backing the industry, corporates going green and technological progress, among other topics.

To read the full article, please click here (paywall).

Writing for The Asian Banker, Olivier Paul, Director, Finance for Development at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), discusses the implications of the Coronavirus pandemic for the trade finance industry and the measures needed to backstop a trade recovery.

Undoubtedly, global trade volumes are expected to fall in 2020 – and with them – the revenues of the trade finance industry. Yet several priority interventions could immediately bolster financing capacity, including large scale purchases of low-risk trade assets, transitioning to paperless trading or providing capital relief for trade transactions under global financial stability rules, known as Basel III.

To read the full article, please click here.

Writing for Financier Worldwide, Olivier Paul, Director, Finance for Development at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), discusses policy responses and paperless trade in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the wheels of global trade turn more slowly as a result of the pandemic, it is crucial that they do not stop completely, and a number of measures have been put in place to support the continued supply of funding for trade – including economic stimulus and capital relief from governments and regulatory institutions and targeted support for trade finance. However, challenges remain for paperless trading. While progress has been made in recent years, action is now urgently required to help digitalise processes to continue providing vital financing to companies worldwide.

To read the full article, please click here.

Lockdown has brought the global economy to a grinding halt — disrupting cash flows and triggering a liquidity crisis.

In an article for Global Finance, UniCredit’s Deputy Head of Global Transaction Banking, Thomas Dusch, argues that once payables and receivables stocks pick up again, banks will be able to step in and plug the liquidity gap with traditional financing tools, such reverse factoring.

In the meantime, however, UniCredit can help buyers support their suppliers through its web-based dynamic discounting tool, offered in partnership with specialist fintech FinDynamic, which enables suppliers to submit invoices for early payment in exchange for a scaled discount, and buyers to select which invoices they would like to approve. This is a highly valuable tool now that most treasury departments must handle their business remotely.

To read the full article, click here.