At a time when many banks’ reputations have been tarnished by one scandal after another, it is perhaps encouraging to see some succeeding with more traditional models. HSBC’s leadership of a consortium of banks that helped support Egypt recover from crisis in 2016 carries echoes of the intervention of JP Morgan to bail out the US Treasury in 1895. For this one-of-a-kind operation, HSBC wins Central Banking’s inaugural award for innovation in reserve management.

The $2 billion funding package