The Basel Committee recently published the Basel II framework. Jaime Caruana, chairman of the committee, responds to The Banker’squeries on it. Q Might the US try to rewrite the framework after its extended QIS4 studies and, if so, will the framework have to be changed? A Firstly, let me say that the framework we published on June 26 is an excellent product, agreed by all Basel Committee members and the result of long and careful discussions, wide consultations and comprehensive impact studies.

The controversial Dubai International Financial Centre is set to open for business in mid-September. Following the abrupt departure in June of the two most senior regulators of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the DIFC’s regulatory body, the project secured the personal involvement of Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and is now proceeding at speed.

Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), Europe’s first Islamic bank, plans to raise £38.5m to develop a branch network prior to its listing on the UK’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in the autumn. IBB, which was licensed by the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) in early August, is the first Islamic bank in the UK and plans to provide a full range of retail banking services on a wholly Sharia-compliant basis, primarily to the UK’s 1.8 million Muslims.

Saxony-Anhalt has become the first state government in Germany and Europe to issue a sub-sovereign bond under Islamic prin-ciples. The €100m bond – called Sukuk in Arabic – does not offer interest payments to its investors.

With a 52% increase in first half profits, Standard Chartered could hardly have done better. But on the acquisition front, it seems to have gone sideways, selling a 9.76% stake in South Korea’s KorAm and watching HSBC beat it for a stake in China’s Bank of Communications (BoCom). Group CEO Mervyn Davies explains the bank’s strategy to Brian Caplen.

HSBC bought 19.9% of Bank of Communications (BoCom), China’s fifth largest bank, for $1.75bn last month, demonstrating the country’s continued allure for major foreign banks eager to invest. Goldman Sachs is also due to follow with an investment of $170m in a planned joint-venture securities firm with Chinese partners.

The battle in Japan to produce the world’s biggest bank took a new twist in late August when Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) launched a hostile bid for the smallest of the “Big Four” banks – UFJ Holdings.

Citigroup has taken a step forward in its strategy to focus on the home market with the acquisition of First American Bank in Texas. The move is in line with that of other US banks such as JPMorgan Chase, which merged with Bank One in July.

All EU member states have ratified treaties that commit them to endeavouring to join the monetary union (EMU) – with the exception of the opt-outs negotiated by the UK and Denmark at Maastricht in 1991. What if a significant number of accession states stayed outside EMU for a long period? Would it affect the development of the rest of the EU?

Outsourcing to rating agencies is not the answer to providing an independent research function; the conflict of interest problem and the accompanying censure will simply move to the rating agencies – and who will regulate them?