For years, Austrian lenders Erste Bank and Raiffeisen Bank have enjoyed strong profits at their central and eastern European operations, but with growth in these economies slowing, more recent results suggest that they may need to rethink their strategies in the region.
The chairman of the board of the National Bank of Belarus, Pavel Kallaur, tells Courtney Fingar about his plans to stabilise the country's currency, as well as keep inflation under control while bringing down interest rates.
With inflation still high following a financial crisis in 2011, there are growing signs that Belarusian banks may need to brace for a further round of currency depreciation and asset quality deterioration.
The Belarusian banking sector weathered the financial turmoil of 2011 with relative ease. However, increased competition, privatisation and a tricky economic climate means future growth will be tough.
Despite facing crisis conditions in 2011, the Belarusian economy has proven to be remarkably robust, boasting plenty of untapped potential, and there are hopes that its privatisation process will lessen the dominance of large state-owned companies on the country's business landscape.
Closer economic integration of countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States has been discussed for many years without practical progress. The launch of a Single Economic Space between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus may be about to change that.
In the past decade, foreign investment and natural resources wealth have transformed the banking landscape in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The Banker's latest ranking for the region shows which countries have benefited the most from this change.
President Alexander Lukashenko’s tight controls have ensured that Belarusians have not suffered in the slow transition to a market economy. But the same restrictions are curbing growth and foreign investment, as Ben Aris reports from Minsk.
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