Foreign banks are already checking out local acquisitions in the run up to the full liberalisation of the Malaysian banking market in 2007. Bank Negara, the central bank of Malaysia, will then allow foreign banks to buy local ones, although in the next few years it will gradually allow some foreign banks to open more branches and have off-site ATMs.

Banorte is now the bank to watch in Mexico. It is the only 100% Mexican-owned institution left in a market that is receiving a strong vote of confidence from outsiders, most recently shown by Spain’s BBVA offering $4.1bn for the 40% of Bancomer it does not already own.

The European Banking Federation (FBE) is working with the European Commission to assess whether any EU legislation is required for the rating agencies industry.

The central bank of Iraq (CBI) announced in early February that three foreign banks, HSBC Holdings, National Bank of Kuwait and Standard Chartered Bank, had been selected to proceed to the final stage of the foreign bank licensing process.

Austria’s leading banks have arranged a successful $200m syndicated loan for Romania’s largest bank, Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR).

This month, The Banker publishes its first ranking of trade conditions for Latin America based on 2002 data.

Israel’s finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prioritising the sale of the banks in which the government has controlling interests. He is intent on selling off Israel’s largest banks, Leumi and Discount, within the coming year and a half.

Financial sector reform must continue and deepen across Asia for prosperity to be sustainable in the region, says Tadao Chino.

Monica Campbell examines the Inter-American Development Bank’s record and finds it has little to show for its 45 years of existence but it is taking small steps to strengthen standards.

Why are financial disasters, such as Parmalat and Enron, so difficult to predict? This month The Banker asked a group of industry experts to participate in a roundtable discussion to explore the issues. Detecting fraud is far from easy, finding solutions far more so. We also look at whether risk models do the job.