Morocco wants to establish Casablanca as a financial hub not only for investment into the rest of north Africa, but countries south of the Sahara too. So far, it has made good progress and is pulling ahead of its regional rivals. 

The regulations implementing the Dodd-Frank Act, which was signed into US law in 2010 in response to the G-20's global financial regulatory reform agenda, are being written, and banks do not like what they see.

As China has moved to speed up the internationalisation of its domestic currency since the financial crisis, the UK has made no secret of its willingness to play a role in this process. But much work still needs to be done with regards to trade settlements between the two countries, as well as improving transport links and communications.

As Europe's banks come to terms with the economic impact of Basel III's rules on capital requirements, their demand for trade finance deals in Latin America through the International Finance Corporation has waned. But this leaves the door open to North American and Asian banks looking to increase their presence in the region.

The Czech Republic has proved that the Euromarket is not exclusive to core eurozone sovereigns by pricing the tightest deal in central and eastern Europe in February 2012.

A combination of policy intervention in emerging markets and high residual risks in developed markets means volatility in emerging market currencies looks set to continue.

Now Kuwait has joined many other Gulf states in pushing through private financing across a range of sectors and overhauling its infrastructure, it boasts one of the Middle East's largest and most diverse public-private partnership programmes. But as the country's government opts for PPPs, will the banks follow?

The state of China’s banks is a divisive topic – are they on the brink of collapse or part of a stable, state-controlled system? The country's financial institutions are reporting high profits and deposits, but with unquantified levels of bad debt, concerns over asset quality and overexposure to a weakening property market, questions are being asked about the long-term health of the sector.

Thus far, 2012 has witnessed a marked trend of corporates eschewing bank lending and turning instead to the debt capital markets. By acting quickly, the DCM team at SGCIB has put itself at the forefront of many of these deals.

By identifying potential weaknesses and fixing them – diversifying a previously oil-reliant economy and encouraging growth in the private sector – Saudi Arabia has managed to sustain a growing economy, even through times of economic and political turmoil.