The Chinese banking sector may have emerged relatively unscathed from the financial crisis, but regulatory reform is still high on its agenda, meaning that the China Banking Regulatory Commission has been keen to stay one step ahead of the game by introducing a new set of regulatory standards in the first half of 2011, which placed a strict emphasis on liquidity.

HSBC has not suffered in the global financial crisis as badly as many of its UK counterparts, and it is already well established in the high-growth emerging markets likely to dominate world trade in the coming decades. However, the bank's new chief executive still believes it could be offering better value to HSBC investors.

Senegal’s banking system is one of Africa’s most competitive. Yet there is plenty of scope for its lenders to expand, thanks to fast economic growth and a large unbanked population. If this rise is managed carefully, Senegal will soon be firmly entrenched as the main banking hub in French-speaking west Africa.

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.

With the West’s financial collapse in 2008, Asia’s banking systems are in search of a new regulatory model. They are keen that their financial sectors should not dominate the real economy. 

The offshore renminbi bond market has seen a surge of issuance in the past year, with bankers predicting that 2012 will be even busier. This does not mean an easy ride for borrowers, however, with investors expecting higher yields as they no longer buy into the market solely on the basis of the strengthening currency.

China's onshore market has grown apace in recent years, driven by significant growth in its economy. Its increased size did not automatically lead to increased diversification, however, as the market remains dominated by government issues. Will new access rules and promising yields from corporate bonds lead to a more open market?

Keeping Greece in and allowing massive European Central Bank intervention are the best ingredients for saving the eurozone. But the case for common eurozone bonds is less clear.

There seems to be something of an inevitability about the renminbi's rise to reserve currency and global dominance. However, there are mutterings that this ascents will be curtailed by China's development model, corporate governance and financial system.