The Czech Republic has proved that the Euromarket is not exclusive to core eurozone sovereigns by pricing the tightest deal in central and eastern Europe in February 2012.

After a harrowing 2011 for Europe's crisis-hit sovereign states – and the banks doing business within them – the European Central Bank's long-term refinancing operation has given the markets a much needed boost and offers hope for 2012. However, some still claim that it is little more than a sticking plaster for Europe's troubles.

As the eurozone's struggles continue to dominate the headlines, institutional investors have flocked to what they perceive as 'safe havens', such as Europe's non-eurozone countries, emerging markets and the US, with even some eurozone-based corporates being considered a more attractive credit bet than their countries' governments.

When the Macquarie and Eiffage consortium, Eiffarie, won a controlling stake in APRR, the highly leveraged French motorway company, Eiffarie knew it needed to gain quick access to the market to refinance APRR's loans. Eiffarie's team established a €6bn euro medium term note programme, and then in mid-November 2011 decided to return to the market with a €500m four-year deal to help repay its outstanding acquisition loan. The result defied even the most optimistic expectations.

Recent events show that the desire to put in place a global recovery and resolution regime to prevent the kind of government intervention that was required during the financial crisis is very much a work in progress. For banks it requires a tremendous amount of work and unprecedented transparency about their operations. For national regulators, it means forging agreements that bring together disparate insolvency regimes.

China's onshore market has grown apace in recent years, driven by significant growth in its economy. Its increased size did not automatically lead to increased diversification, however, as the market remains dominated by government issues. Will new access rules and promising yields from corporate bonds lead to a more open market?

ABN Amro has come a long way since RBS and Fortis, two of the Dutch bank's three owners, faced collapse in 2008. So when the senior unsecured debt market reopened in late September, the bank stepped forward to issue a €500m, two-year floating rate note, securing a good price, as it attempts to re-establish itself on the international market.

As the eurozone crisis rages on, the commodities markets, long reliant on European banks for financing, have been thrown into a state of instability that is having major repercussions across the industry.