Asia is riding high as the world’s saviour, ­taking up the slack from an ever-weakening US economy. Its main vulnerability is its dependence on increasingly expensive oil to continue ­developing, and the inflationary pressures affecting the price of food.

Japan managed only to raise its head from its endless slump, before falling back into the same pattern.

The top order of banks in the central and eastern Europe (CEE) region changed little in 2007, but the striking story is the strength of the largest Russian banks.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are responsible for remodelling the Top 25 western European banks in this year’s listings. As ABN AMRO is consolidated onto the balance sheets of its three purchasers, it disappears from our rankings, while RBS, Santander and Fortis all move up the table.

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Banks may be suffering as the credit crunch bites, but the past year shows the industry has the resilience to stop a setback turning into a disaster. By Stephen Timewell. Research by Terry Baker-Self, Valentina Lorenzon & Beata Ghavimi.

A successful brand will deliver a better customer experience, higher revenues and more profits. The Banker’s Top 500 Financial Brands listing puts a financial value on the leading brands and ranks them accordingly. Report by Michael Imeson.

Banks’ overall downturn in performance, despite Japan’s economic growth, signals a rough road ahead.

Diversification by banks away from industry and into retail indicates Russia’s growing banking prowess.

How profitable are Islamic financial institutions? With Islamic instruments and different reporting standards in some cases, direct comparisons with traditional western interest-bearing instruments have often been difficult to make.

Brazil’s banks dominate the listing with their healthy assets and profitability, and Mexico also does well.