China Evergrande Group urged offshore bondholders to "refrain from taking any radical legal actions, which will have an impact on the current hard-won stability." The financially distressed Chinese real estate company said it needs more time to get its complicated situation under control.

Fears of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine sent the Russian rouble and the country's stocks, as well as emerging market assets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America tumbling. The rouble gave up almost 2% of its value and national currencies across Eastern Europe posted declines.

The asset management arm of JPMorgan Chase has formed a team specializing in sustainable investment within its private equity business. The team will cater to privately-held growth-stage companies working on resource efficiency and climate adaptation.

The issuance of collateralized loan obligations in the US and Europe climbed to record levels in 2021 and their credit quality improved, according to Fitch Ratings. The ratings firm gave the CLOs a neutral asset performance outlook, based upon portfolio credit quality and a favorable market environment.

Job openings in London's banking sector shot up in 2021, increasing 129% over 2020's total, driven by a boom in new deals. Last year notices for 29,000 new job openings in London were published.

Some international and domestic fund managers are preparing to roll out new funds investing in bargain-priced US dollar bonds issued by China's property developers. "The high-yield space presents a lot of opportunities, especially for distressed investors," said Paula Chan, senior portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management.

The China Construction Bank Corp.'s City of London operations is the UK's only renminbi clearing bank, and bank executive Yang Aimin says he is targeting more business after clearing volume increased by 18% last year despite geopolitical tensions. Yang says he is pushing for the UK to accept renminbi bonds as collateral, saying it would help promote trading in other yuan assets.

Unlike their counterparts at other central banks, Bank of England policymakers have had little to say about interest rates as their February meeting draws near. Some market participants are starting to view the bank's silence as a sign that rates will be raised at the February meeting.

JPMorgan has merged its Irish and Luxembourg businesses into a single entity based in Germany to become more competitive in the EU now that the UK has withdrawn from the bloc. The bank said the new combined business "will be among the five largest banking legal entities in Germany."

Beginning in 2024 the European Banking Authority will require the 150 biggest EU banks to publish data on how they are affecting compliance with climate goals. The Association for Financial Markets in Europe applauded the EBA for delaying the effective date of the green asset ratio, which it originally planned to implement this year, while noting wider concerns about the framework.