Back from the brink could be the message from Friday as markets teetered on the edge of meltdown only for a late US rally to put a hand out to pull us away from the abyss.

We have had the ‘banking’ crisis now we are entering the sovereign one . . .

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SEPA - End in sight

2009 is the year that the Direct Debit scheme for the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) was partially launched. For 2010, the payments industry is putting its hopes in a mandatory end-date coming from the European Commission. For FX&MM, Frances Maguire reports.

Leading the way to a harmonised European payments system

When it comes to SEPA and the PSD, it really is no exercise in hyperbole to describe Tony Richter as something of a guru. He has been running both projects for HSBC over the past two years, honing the complex system that promises a harmonised European payments arena.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Aside, perhaps, from weddings and other similarly familial occasions, which at least offer up an excuse for the sentimental among us to unwittingly collude with greetings cards manufacturers, all anniversaries have a tendency towards self-fulfilment... 

Transforming bank treasury with TLM

Treasury operations renovation at banks is being driven by the inability of current systems and process to manage today's transaction volumes. In its last Triennial Survey, in 2007, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) found that the overall market for FX products had grown nearly 70% since its previous review. 

African trade is poised for rapid recovery as recession fades

Dipak Patel, head of Global Transactional Products and Services, Standard Bank, says the global financial crisis has forced banks the world over to concentrate on their core business. Ironically, this has worked in Africa's favour...

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Soros Out in the Cold as he Calls for Break-Up of Big Banks

Legendary investor and billionaire philanthropist George Soros, infamous as the "the man who broke the Bank of England" for his role forcing the pound out of Europe's exchange-rate mechanism in 1992... 

BoE Governor Radical Banking Reform

Mervyn King has said he backs calls for radical reform of the global banking sector, adding that while major change was needed, it should not be rushed because of the risk it might harm the wider economy... 

Goldman Sachs UK Partners Cap Their Pay at £1m Each

Goldman Sachs' 100 UK-based partners are capping their 2009 pay and bonuses at £1m each, which industry insiders say represents a significant sacrifice of several hundred million pounds... 

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