As a large number of banks across the globe see the value of their brand slip for a second consecutive year, many financial institutions are seeing both positive and negative results of being associated with their country of origin, something that has worked out particularly well for Canadian banks.

Kenya’s banks have proved themselves to be among Africa’s savviest and most innovative when it comes to tapping the unbanked market, which has helped them and their profits expand quickly in the past few years. And with a significant proportion of the market still unbanked, not to mention a relatively small number of mortgages in the country, there is still room for further growth.

A return to economic growth in Estonia shows that it is possible to benefit from eurozone membership, even amid Europe's financial crisis. But governments must first acknowledge the limits of what the state can do.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia's €1.5bn five-year issue was the third and comfortably the most successful Australian transaction since the country passed supportive legislation for covered bonds in late 2011. Joint bookrunner on the deal, BNP Paribas, put its success down to timing and the choice of currency.