Although Greece currently has the lowest sovereign rating in the eurozone and the highest budget deficit ratio, its membership was enough to reassure investors that its 15-year issue in November was a safe bet. Writer Edward Russell-Walling

BNP Paribas' acquisition of Fortis has considerably increased the size of the bank's Corporate & Investment Banking arm's balance sheet. The French bank says now is the time to use it to win advisory business.

Global regulators are drawing up tougher capital adequacy standards, but German banks do not like what they are seeing. Writer Michael Imeson

Firing the chief executives responsible for mismanaging Nigeria's banks has been the first step to fixing the country's financial problems. Now the system is more transparent, Central Bank of Nigeria governor Lamido Sanusi is spelling out his vision for banking reform and stability. Writer Peter Guest

Syria's banking sector has made great strides in the past two decades, but is still dominated by small regional banks. Now the country's government is looking to major global names to take its economy forward. Writer Brian Caplen

For Qatar to compete with London and New York as a financial centre, it needs to be supported by a local talent pool. Qatar Financial Centre chief executive Stuart Pearce highlights two initiatives that will help the country in this regard. Writer Brian Caplen

The severe slowdown of international trade flows and trade financing during the global crisis have impacted heavily on the export-dependent Latin American economies, yet there are signs that the market is starting to pick up.

Although the pre-tax profits of Latin American banks have slipped, Tier 1 capital figures have grown by 14% and Brazil has firmly held onto its regional dominance. Writer Silvia Pavoni