Key country: Brazil is the most important market in Latin America for HSBC
HSBC's spectacular expansion in Latin America over the past 10 years has certainly paid dividends, with the group now the fifth largest in the region. Head of HSBC Latin America, Emilson Alonso, offers his views on the business and its strategy for the future. Writer Jane Monahan
Mexico's finance minister discusses the country's close relationship with the US, and whether the banking sector should play a bigger role in reactivating Mexico's stuttering economy. Writer Jane Monahan
Although Mexico's exports and remittances are in decline, its oil production and tourism sectors weakened and unemployment rising, the country's banking industry entered the global crisis in good shape and may be able to provide the credit needed to reactivate the economy. Writer Jane Monahan
Banks across Latin America are gradually signing up to the rules designed to ensure major project finance is environmentally responsible. But take-up is still slow and commitment varies from institution to institution. Writer Jane Monahan
Some of the multilateral development banks in the Latin Americas region are proving stellar sources of funding at this time of crisis, although others are lagging behind with depleted reserves. Writer Jane Monahan
Press conference on co-operation between the Latin American development banks (l to r): Enrique Garcia, CAF president; Luis Alberto Moreno, IDB president; Jyrki Koskelo, IFC vice-president for Europe, central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and global financial markets; and Pamela Cox, World Bank vice-president for Latin America and the Caribbean
The slump in capital markets activity and a decline in cash flow has pushed Latin America's multilateral development banks to prominence as the biggest and most robust lenders in some of the region's principal credit markets. Writer Jane Monahan in Washington, DC
National development banks in Latin America such as Brazil's BNDES and Mexico's Nafinsa are playing an important role in keeping funds flowing in the region, but there is a danger of them being over-stretched. Writer Jane Monahan
The countries of the Caribbean have so far avoided the worst of the global slowdown, in part due to the region's steadfast regulatory discipline, but also because of the conservative approach adopted by the Canadian banks that dominate the area's financial sector. Writer Jane Monahan
In the US’s multi-layered banking sector, the credit crisis is being felt on all levels. But as the Treasury launches wave after wave of initiatives to protect the larger banks, and the smaller community banks stand firm due to their low exposure to subprime, it is the medium-sized banks that face the greatest threat. Writer Jane Monahan in Washington, DC.
As US regulators and government work together to increase liquidity and help stabilise the economy, mixed opinions abound on just how much public money should be used to alleviate the problems stemming from the country’s banking sector. Writer Jane Monahan.
