Marco Bianchi 
Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services face an initial European Commission antitrust investigation into their dominant market power in cloud services, putting them on a collision course with the EU’s stringent digital competition rulebook.
The Bank of Spain (Spanish central bank and banking supervisor) has issued guidance encouraging financial entities to develop internal artificial intelligence capabilities to manage climate-related risks. The supervisor emphasizes the importance of validating AI results, documenting underlying assumptions, and avoiding uncritical applications of AI technology.
Spanish investment services firms experienced a two-speed sector performance in Q1 2026, with overall profitability declining significantly compared to the prior year period, with agencies particularly hard hit.
Spanish bank BBVA is expanding its attack on the German retail banking market by launching a credit card offering cashback rewards and zero fees, intensifying competition in the highly competitive retail banking sector.
Tressis, a Spanish securities company, published its investment perspective for the coming months, expressing moderate optimism about global equities with a preference for US stocks. The firm maintains a neutral stance on European, Japanese and emerging market equities, while remaining bullish on Spanish stocks and the banking sector as a beneficiary of artificial intelligence developments. The company plans to use market corrections to invest in gold and prefers fixed income positions with durations of 3-5 years.
BitGo is targeting cryptocurrency firms that are awaiting approval under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, as concerns persist about Binance’s licensing status in Europe.
Citi Islamic Investment Bank was recognized as North America’s best sukuk house in 2026 after arranging over $31 billion in sukuk issuance in 2025. Operating through a regional hub in the UAE with a specialist presence in Malaysia, the bank provided Islamic finance solutions across sovereign, financial institution, and corporate issuers, including landmark transactions for Saudi Aramco, Public Investment Fund, and DP World. The bank also expanded its role in sustainable Islamic finance.
Standard Chartered Saadiq was recognized as the Middle East’s best Islamic project finance house in 2026 by Euromoney. The bank is highlighted for its role in expanding sustainable Islamic finance, particularly through its involvement in Tabreed’s $700 million green sukuk issuance in March 2025, which was the first green bond from a pure-play district cooling services provider. Standard Chartered acted as joint global coordinator and joint lead manager, combining sustainable finance standards with Islamic capital markets execution.
ESMA Chief Verena Ross and other financial supervisors express concern that investors may not be properly evaluating market risks including geopolitical tensions related to Iran and other potential dangers, while equity analysts show increasing optimism.
Colonial’s stock trading stalled following the company’s Capital Markets Day presentation, indicating investor skepticism or lack of conviction in the company’s presented strategy or performance outlook.