Ecuador’s banks have undergone sweeping changes, as the Rafael Correa-led government seeks to redress the balance between lenders and their customers. Officials say the interventions are necessary, but with big banks hit the hardest, bankers are asking just how this regulation benefits the market.

Increasing tariffs on luxury goods and social sector government spending may not be conventional economic policy moves, but they have worked for Ecuador’s finance minister, Patricio Rivera, who has helped the country's gross domestic product to grow while reducing its poverty rate, decreasing unemployment and increasing the country's energy capacity.

Latin America's buoyant economies are attracting a slew of foreign institutions, with banks from within Latin America itself and from further afield establishing substantial networks across the continent. Unsurprisingly, the largest foreign-owned subsidiary presence is in Brazil, but the large domestic market has quelled Brazilian banks' ambitions elsewhere and it is Colombian lenders that are forging ahead with cross-border acquisitions.

With advanced economies still languishing in the doldrums, trade between Asia and Latin America is driving global economic growth, and it appears that this blossoming relationship is mutually beneficial. However, could protectionist policies in Latin America dampen this ardour?