BizKnowledge Watch

German bank KfW has topped the Ranking of the World’s 50 Safest Banks. Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (BNG) (Netherlands) and Zürcher Kantonalbank (Switzerland) occupy second and third place respectively, while Spain’s Banco Santander occupied last place among the 50 safest banks in the world.

The ranking, compiled by international finance magazine Global Finance, is based on evaluations of long-term credit ratings – from Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings – and the total assets of the 500 largest banks worldwide.

For more information about the rankings, click here.

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The economic crisis has had a profound impact on the asset management industry and hedge funds, in particular, have received considerable criticism. This survey by Ernst & Young explores the current application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by investment funds across Europe and shows how views and attitudes have changed since the last time a similar survey was undertaken in 2003.

Click here to download the full report.

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Global asset managers, reeling from declining asset pools and client attrition, must take bold steps to strengthen their businesses if they hope to weather the current financial crisis and gain competitive advantage for the post-crisis era, according to this report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

This latest report is the seventh annual study of the global asset-management industry and it draws on detailed benchmarking of leading competitors. The report also includes a comprehensive market-sizing study covering 32 countries (representing more than 95 percent of the global asset-management market), as well as a detailed analysis of the forces that are shaping the fortunes of the industry worldwide.

The full report is available from the Boston Consulting Group website.