Alpha Bank has warned that its potential merger partner Eurobank is more exposed to a Greek sovereign haircut, but the picture among both banks' foreign subsidiaries is a little different.

Latin American banks dominate the rankings for deposits with the central bank, providing large liquidity cushions in their countries if needed.

Regulators are making much of macroprudential tools to prevent future bubbles. But regulatory capture remains an obvious risk.

Société Générale was a frequent issuer in the bond market until the conditions in the latter half of 2011 brought the Eurobond market to a standstill. So when investor interest was revived in the opening days of 2012, the French bank was quick to take the opportunity to tap the market, issuing a €1.5bn 10-year covered bond, which attracted investors from across Europe.

In response to a request from the European Commission, a recent consultation paper from the European pensions body looks at ways the proposed Solvency II directive for insurers could be applied to occupational pensions. Many in the industry see far more problems than solutions in its application

The creation of a new class of pfandbrief backed by aircraft loan collateral is set to take off in 2012, and given the reliability of this type of covered bond, this could arouse particular interest from outside its domestic German market.

Banks in emerging markets appear to run greater risks to achieve greater returns. But they may just be more conservative in assessing their risks.

Strengthening the legal framework to manage an international financial failure does not make failures more likely.