Bank takeovers after collapses, a burst of commentary about AI, and continued turbulence in global markets formed the background to much of our reporting in recent days. Here's a recap and look-forward from the editor.

Much has happened in the two weeks since I wrote my last recap of events! UBS has acquired Swiss rival Credit Suisse in a deal that will cause reverberations for years. Many jobs will be cut. The banking reputation of Switzerland has taken a blow from which it will not recover quickly. We’ve written about the write-down in high-risk bonds issued by Credit Suisse, the return of Sergio Ermotti as CEO at UBS, and pondered where this saga leaves the wider industry. We intend to continue tracking developments in Zurich and the wider world in coming weeks. 

In the US, the First Citizens takeover of the greater part of Silicon Valley Bank put an end to the most immediate crisis phase at SVB, but it hasn’t of course silenced debate about whether backstopping depositors by federal US authorities is a good idea. We see lots of commentary about whether the regulatory/risk management lessons of the 2008/2009 financial crisis were learnt or not.

.And politics is, sadly, an arena where learning lessons is often notable for its absence.

Away from the banking mess, we’ve written about technology quite a bit, and I wrote an editorial about what to make of the advance of artificial intelligence (AI) and whether there’s a danger of it becoming overhyped. We will see how this pans out. There’s a mixture of anticipation and fear in the air.

In other articles, we have published content about what investors can or should do to shield portfolios from a potential global recession; we have covered more wealth sector M&A activity, for example Investec in the UK and Rathbones, and the infusion of a Canadian family’s wealth into Rockefeller Capital Management. In the offshore world, the British Virgin Islands have set out the case for why it contributes to the global economy. 

What to expect? We continue to look at developments in technology and how these will affect the wealth industry around the world. The developments of family offices, and their specific investments, remain an important regular feature on our news services, and I am looking forward to carrying new insights, thanks to our exclusive media partnership with Highworth Research, a UK-based data and analysis business. Interviews are coming down the pipeline with a range of Swiss and other European digital assets firms. The collapse of cryptocurrency platform FTX and worries from regulators mean that the digital assets space is going through tough times, but some industry figures remain optimistic.

Later this month I am off to Monaco to cover a conference, and take the temperature (literally) of this principality and how it fits into the financial centre world. At the start of May, I will be switching to New York for our annual North American awards programme, and I am really looking forward to discovering insights. And then it is off to Singapore at the end of May. It’s a lot of travel, but worth it.

Please note that this news service has added a new feature: guest articles. For example, we have a guest article slot where experts in the sector regularly update us on topics, such as on how to trace digital assets, the risks of marriage in older years, and the pros and cons of real estate investing. For some time now, ClearView's news services have also carried sponsored content in a curated part of the site.

In the multi-media side, I recently interviewed Filippo Noseda of Mishcon de Reya about what privacy means in today’s world where there are demands for transparency and disclosure. 

As ever, if you want to tell us about stories, article ideas, or provide feedback on what we publish, don’t hesitate to contact. My email is tom.burroughes@wealthbriefing.com