There are major issues to iron out for EU emerging markets in adopting Basel II, warns the EBRD’s Piroska M. Nagy.

UK ruling on interchange fees adds to mounting pressure on the once cosy fiefdoms of two credit giants.

Germany’s reluctance to fully endorse the pro-market reform Angela Merkel could send Europe’s largest economy into deeper decline.

Investment banks are notoriously secretive about their earnings. They argue that to disclose more would give away competitive advantage. But aren’t shareholders and regulators entitled to a fuller picture of exactly how they make their money? As a first step in understanding the situation, in this month’s cover story we publish the best information available on the primary markets and look at the size of the secondary business.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II says that demographics mean that exporting jobs or workers is becoming a vital part of doing business in a global economy.

Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank (AUB) has strengthened its role as a major player in the Gulf by acquiring a majority stake in the Bank of Kuwait & the Middle East (BKME), the seventh largest bank in Kuwait.

Argentina’s National Securities Commission (NSC) has launched an official investigation into 30.9m pesos ($11.3m) of bonus payments made in 2005 to directors of Banco Hipotecario, one of the main mortgage lenders in the country.

Bankers and journalists were busy in August speculating on the future of the Bank of Italy, the Banca Popolare Italiana (BPI, until recently Banca Popolare di Lodi), the Banca Antoniana Popolare Veneta (Antonveneta) and the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL).

Dublin’s aspirations of becoming a major European centre for the issuance of covered bonds have been dealt a heavy blow by two German banks.

After months of negotiations, Vienna-based Raiffeisen International (RI) has signed a landmark purchase agreement to acquire a 93.5% stake in Ukraine’s second largest bank, Bank Aval.
The deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval in Ukraine and Austria, adds significantly to RI’s existing banking assets in Ukraine and reflects its pioneering style in central and eastern Europe.