The exposure of Cypriot banks to the Greek economy has prompted rating downgrades for the country. But with some of the island's banks boasting high liquidity and interest from foreign investors, the long-term prospects look brighter.

The sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone has had little impact on the euro’s exchange rate against the dollar. However, it has delayed the process of reserve diversification.

Higher volumes than before the financial crisis and a growing number of heavyweight currencies are attracting investment banks, but the global foreign exchange pie may not be large enough for everyone to have a slice.

Singapore’s strategic location in Asia is proving a boon to the city state’s transaction bankers, particularly as they seek to capture banking business from the world’s changing trade flows.

Citi's head of G-10 rates, risk treasury and finance, Andrew Morton, has pulled the previously disjointed business together since his appointment in 2008, and this cohesive approach has been rewarded with a clutch of happy clients and strong positionings in the rates league tables.

After a harrowing 2011 for Europe's crisis-hit sovereign states – and the banks doing business within them – the European Central Bank's long-term refinancing operation has given the markets a much needed boost and offers hope for 2012. However, some still claim that it is little more than a sticking plaster for Europe's troubles.

As the eurozone's struggles continue to dominate the headlines, institutional investors have flocked to what they perceive as 'safe havens', such as Europe's non-eurozone countries, emerging markets and the US, with even some eurozone-based corporates being considered a more attractive credit bet than their countries' governments.

Europe’s corporate bond market started 2012 at a ferocious pace as investors flocked to what they increasingly perceive as a safe haven. While issuance may slow later in the year, few believe the market is a bubble waiting to burst, and there is a widespread feeling that its heyday will last a good while yet. 

The European Central Bank's long-term refinancing operation has given bank funding – which crept along at a snail's pace in the second half of 2011 – a shot in the arm. But has it provided a long-term fix?