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Andrea Orcel is looking to clinch a deal for Unicredit to acquire parts of stricken Italian lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) in the early part of September after revealing it was negotiating with the Italian government.

Investment banks are broadening the search for talent and tweaking their recruitment message to attract and retain the bankers of the future, as working conditions and corporate culture emerge as hot topics after a difficult period for staff in the industry.

After several quarters of strong performance among European investment banking businesses, there are signs that firms are satisfied with cost cutting measures and are prepared to resume investment instead.

Lloyds Bank has formulated a succession plan to prepare for the departure of Allen Appen, its head of bond financing, as another senior figure prepares to leave its debt capital markets group.

The Loan Market Association (LMA) and the European Leveraged Finance Association (ELFA) jointly released a best practice guide for sustainability-linked loans on Wednesday. The guidance is aimed specifically at the leveraged loan market and stresses the importance of agreeing on clearly defined key performance indicators ahead of announcing a SLL.

Barclays has made several further promotions across its capital markets and M&A teams in London and New York, a week after rolling out a new global investment banking management structure.

Standard Chartered has launched an apprenticeship programme that is open to school leavers without academic qualifications as it seeks to bring more diversity to financial markets.

US-style Spac IPOs will soon be possible on the London Stock Exchange following a review by the Financial Conduct Authority, although the changes come at a time when the vehicles have fallen increasingly out of favour with investors.

SMBC has beefed up its coverage of the technology sector with the addition of two senior bankers in San Francisco who previously worked together at HSBC.

Crédit Agricole has hired the former head of Santander's global banking and corporate finance business, Georg Orssich, in a regional management position.

Barclays has elevated Jean Francois (JF) Astier and John Miller to co-heads of investment banking as part of a raft of promotions in New York that also include the appointments of Kristin Roth DeClark and Taylor Wright as global co-heads of capital markets.

The European Commission will have completed a legislative proposal for the finalisation of Basel III by early October, according to a new agenda published this week.