AnaCap Financial Partners (“AnaCap”), the specialist European financial services private equity firm, has announced the successful completion of the acquisition of two portfolios of Italian non-performing loans (NPLs) with a face value of more than €2 billion.

European bank stocks have collapsed so far this year whilst their credit default swaps have risen rapidly. Surely the credit and equity markets are telling us something? – Europe's nascent economic recovery is over? Negative rates are killing net interest margins? They don't have enough capital?…the list goes on. Whilst all the above cannot be ignored and investors need to select bank stocks carefully...

Investors should adapt to this new reality, just as they are being buffeted by a number of economic crosswinds: a strengthening US dollar with its disruptive impact on emerging economies, the knock-on effect on developed nations, deteriorating US fundamentals sparked by a turn in the credit cycle, but an improving economic outlook for Europe, helped by supportive monetary policy.

European banks intend to raise about €40 billion in Additional Tier 1 bonds in 2016, but fears over the high-risk contingent convertible debt have frozen the market since the beginning of February.

Global liquidity conditions may have begun to tighten for emerging market economies (EMEs), according to updated data from the Bank for International Settlements. BIS General Manager Jaime Caruana detailed highlights from the latest global liquidity indicators, a measure of the ease of financing in global financial markets...