As the world's leaders debate the role of banking and how best to regulate it, there are many elements of Islamic banking that could provide guidelines.

James Flaherty, finance minister of Canada

With the rise of the G-20, some commentators have written off the G-7. Canada's finance minister James Flaherty dismisses this idea. He spoke to Brian Caplen at the IMF/World Bank meetings last month.

Firing the chief executives responsible for mismanaging Nigeria's banks has been the first step to fixing the country's financial problems. Now the system is more transparent, Central Bank of Nigeria governor Lamido Sanusi is spelling out his vision for banking reform and stability. Writer Peter Guest

Syria's banking sector has made great strides in the past two decades, but is still dominated by small regional banks. Now the country's government is looking to major global names to take its economy forward. Writer Brian Caplen

The Philippines' finance minister says that the archipelago's economy has remained relatively resilient during the downturn compared with its export-dependent neighbours. But the budget deficit remains an ongoing problem. Writer Michelle Price

The past few years have been turbulent even by Ukraine's standards, but prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko insists the situation will settle after next year's presidential elections. Writer Courtney Fingar

Inconsistency in interpretation and implementation of the Payments Services Directive mean that a rewrite is imminent. By Chris Skinner