Author Archives: Darren Marchal

Star in the ascent

“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future”.  A quote that has been variously attributed to individuals as diverse as physicist Niel Bohr and baseball player Yogi Berra.   Whoever said it first, it most definitely has a ring of truth, and to prove it, here’s a prediction taken from the IMF World Economic Outlook…

Banking on transparency

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been one of those emerging markets in which corporate governance is seen as a relatively new concept; indeed it is only in the last ten years that an Arabic word, “hawkamah” for ‘corporate governance’ has emerged. But despite its infancy in the region, corporate governance has…

Informing decisions

BRE Bank has grown from the need of the young capital market in Poland at early stages of its development. From the very beginning it had an ambition to create innovative products, offer cutting edge business solutions and build partnering relations with its clients. Thus, it aimed to establish cooperation with prominent foreign banks, support…

Prioritising growth

Constantly developing and improving its services, Blom Bank Group provides universal banking services that meet its’ clients needs. These services include: Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking, Private and Investment Banking, Asset Management, Retail Banking, Islamic Banking and Insurance products and services. Blom Bank’s strategy is based on the expansion in the region and the diversification of…

Banking on transparency

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been one of those emerging markets in which corporate governance is seen as a relatively new concept; indeed it is only in the last ten years that an Arabic word, “hawkamah” for ‘corporate governance’ has emerged. But despite its infancy in the region, corporate governance has…

Informing decisions

BRE Bank has grown from the need of the young capital market in Poland at early stages of its development. From the very beginning it had an ambition to create innovative products, offer cutting edge business solutions and build partnering relations with its clients. Thus, it aimed to establish cooperation with prominent foreign banks, support…

Prioritising growth

Constantly developing and improving its services, Blom Bank Group provides universal banking services that meet its’ clients needs. These services include: Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking, Private and Investment Banking, Asset Management, Retail Banking, Islamic Banking and Insurance products and services. Blom Bank’s strategy is based on the expansion in the region and the diversification of…

Bridging the pensions gap

How has the past year affected OTP Pension Funds’ performance? After a negative, pessimistic year in 2008 we achieved real success last year. In terms of investments, 2009 was also the most successful year of the Funds. Last year for instance we achieved a yield of 33.51 percent in our growth portfolio, having the highest…

Maintaining the balance

Specialising in market niches such as government banking, infrastructure projects, factoring to suppliers of government-owned firms, agribusiness, and fiduciary services, Banco Interacciones continues to strengthen its structure through good results and a 100 percent plough back net income policy. In 2009 the net income was 39 percent higher than the previous year, exceeding shareholders expectations….

WTO: Global crisis to hurt trade for up to 2 years

Global trade will face lingering protectionism for up to two years, as the job market reels from the global financial crisis, World Trade Organisation Director-General Pascal Lamy said recently. “We are not out of the woods in coping with this protectionist tensions,” Lamy told reporters in the Chilean capital Santiago during a visit. “We on…