The Gulf Cooperation Council states were rocked by the collapse in oil prices in April. Sovereign issuers from the region, however, still managed to print US$24bn of debt that month, but other names could struggle going forward.

Bahrain looks set to benefit from its prompt reaction to the coronavirus pandemic and from its investment in economic activity that has become more essential during the global lockdown.

Global consulting firm Accenture is pursuing an ambitious expansion strategy within critical growth areas. Mudano, a data consultancy supporting UK financial services firms, will boost its offering in analytics and artificial intelligence. 

Many banks are investing heavily in artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, with a view to protecting their systems against criminal activity.

The Saudi Arabian power and water developer is helping drive the shift towards renewable energy in the Middle East and beyond.

Turkey’s Akbank and biscuit maker Ulker made successful trips to the loan market for deals totalling more than US$1bn at the start of April as the coronavirus tore through Europe, but economic pain is hitting the country hard and the central bank has taken an unprecedented step to start buying debt.

The midmarket investment banking firm welcomes Allan Bertie and Alastair Rogers as it seeks to expand its presence across Europe. 

Despite the disruptions wrought by Covid-19, Oramah begins his second five-year term optimistic about the implementation of AfCFTA.

Jana Hecker has become UniCredit’s global head of equity capital markets and Alexei Bolshakov has left Citi to join Russian brokerage BCS Global Markets where he will act as global head of equities. 

The European Commission is ramping up towards a €750bn Covid-19 recovery programme, effectively creating a huge new borrower in Europe’s sovereign, supranational and agency bond market.

Azerbaijani chemical company Socar Polymer printed a market-record size dollar bond on the domestic market over the summer, with bankers on the ground in the country now looking to attract international money.

The seventy-one countries who hold shares in the development bank that promotes private enterprise first in Central and Eastern Europe, and now much further abroad will choose the new president at their delayed annual meeting in October.