Join us (virtually) as we raise our glasses to the banks that outshone their peers in terms of performance, strategic initiatives and response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s biggest bank by assets following the merger with UBI Banca, talks to The Banker about Italy’s economic rally, the bank’s job in supporting the recovery and the role ESG will play in its new strategic plan.

The north African country faced numerous challenges long before Covid-19 struck, but the path to much-needed reforms is a difficult one.

What ‘normal’ will look like post-pandemic is not easy to predict, as inflation, rising interest rates and quantitative easing tapering lead to greater uncertainty in the year to come. Edward Russell-Walling reports.

Drew Goldman, Deutsche Bank’s global head of investment banking coverage and advisory, believes there are plenty of reasons for optimism about its performance in one of the bank’s most significant markets.

As the passion economy grows and offers people fresh and flexible ways of making money by building businesses around what they love, is the industry ready to offer services to this smaller-sized, but fast-growing segment of the corporate market?

Wendy Redshaw, chief digital information officer, retail banking, at NatWest Group, believes innovation belongs to everyone, not just the ‘cool kids’. 

The post-Covid rush has been driven by a surge in natural resources-related deals. 

A renewed interest in antitrust could mean greater scrutiny ahead of mergers – including banking consolidation – and even the prospect of curbs on US tech giants.

Fostering an innovative and competitive financial services sector requires a forward-thinking central bank to establish a strong regulatory framework.

China’s economic expansion into Latin America has raised questions about the motivation behind such investments and the contractual terms.

The Banker's 2021 Top Islamic Financial Institutions ranking highlights a resilient sector across the globe.

The Banker’s Top 100 Central American Banks ranking shows a resilient industry in the face of many challenges.

Change is underway in Chile as its financial institutions face political, economic and operational challenges.