With Cyprus’s economy moving out of the danger zone, its finance minister is laying the groundwork for a smaller but better regulated banking system.

As Sibos 2013 gets under way, Brian Caplen – who will host panel discussions at the event on September 16 and 19 – looks at the themes set to dominate proceedings this year.

There is no logic to the EU rules that force banks that received state bail-outs to commit to costly restructurings, as ultimately it is the taxpayers that lose out. Again.

Sim Tshabalala, the recently appointed co-chief executive of South Africa’s Standard Bank, tells Paul Wallace about his plans to grow in Africa and connect the region to the world’s investors. He also explains why replacing Jacko Maree with joint CEOs was the right decision. 

Lars Millberg, head of transaction banking at SEB's merchant banking division, discusses the importance of innovation, and describes the bank's unique approach to encouraging out-of-the-box thinking among its employees.

In the past 18 months, RBS has been building out its hybrid issuance capacity, making new hires and reaching out to the largest investors. Its efforts started to pay off in 2013, when the bank notched up a number of mandates in the first six months of the year.