The US Federal Reserve’s proposals to implement the liquidity coverage ratio component of Basel III involves hitting their deadline sooner than Basel's recommendations and tighter definitions of liquid assets.

A majority of African banks were able to increase their interest rate spreads in 2012, but high inflation tends to be a major factor for the top performers.

Predictions that an end to US quantitative easing would cause a major upset in the bond markets have not materialised, but the landscape is changing gradually for primary issuance.

Islamic banks are growing more quickly than their conventional counterparts, but not all of this growth is generating good returns.

The proposals on securities lending and financing in the Financial Stability Board’s paper on shadow banking have reassured market participants, but it is unclear whether they will override more draconian ideas.

The Bank for International Settlements suggests there is evidence that higher capital requirements for systemically important banks have led to higher interest rates on their lending to bolster return on equity. But interest spreads are still far lower than a decade ago.

A sell-off in some emerging market currencies owing to expectations of higher US interest rates cannot disguise the long-term trend toward greater foreign exchange activity for global banks in emerging markets.