Leaders

Asiamoney’s second Women in Finance special report shows that diversity is becoming more embedded within banks, influencing how they recruit, retain and propel women up the career ladder.

British economist John Maynard Keynes famously wrote more than 80 years ago that people’s behaviour in the financial world is often driven by “animal spirits” that suggest “spontaneous optimism rather than mathematical expectations”. The current craze for special purpose acquisition company (Spac) listings is a good example.

How should investors incorporate political risk into their view of asset markets?

The results are in and the signs are good. Asia’s banking industry appears to be making some progress on gender balance in the workforce.

Are financial markets too divorced from reality?

Most governments in Asia have resorted to some form of economic shock therapy, but there is only so much the monetary and fiscal authorities can do.

Banks are better prepared than in 2008, because lessons were learned from the last crisis.

Digital banks have long talked about the importance of efficient online and mobile banking services at the expense of face-to-face meetings and physical branches; the coronavirus crisis means there is now little argument against this model.

What does it take to build a stock exchange?