The largest state-owned banks still dominate the top of Russia’s banking system, but high returns, specialisation and consolidation in the private sector are creating signs of change.

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.

African banks have grown substantially in the past few years. Those from South Africa are still the biggest, but they are far from being the most profitable.

Japan's banks recorded unremarkable increases in profitability and returns over the past year, yet the country's big players have maintained their prominence within the global rankings, suggesting that their disappointing performance is part of a wider global trend. But with the data from the months following the disasters of March 2011 yet to be revealed, the performance of Japan's banks could yet take a further hit.

The growth of China's banking sector continues unabated, with banks the length and breadth of the country, small and large, turning in impressive performances in The Banker's Top 100 Chinese Banks ranking.

African banks may be small, but they are among the world’s most profitable, as our survey of the lenders pushing for places in the Top 1000 World Banks shows.