The Russian retail banking sector has survived the crisis largely intact, and the change of focus from growth to funding and risk management could have long-term benefits for its resilience. Writer Philip Alexander

Abbey's CEO tells how his decision to pull the bank back from the mortgage market and transform it into a full commercial bank has helped it to thrive during the fallout of the crisis.

Mark Butterfield, CIO of Nomura for Europe, the Middle East and Africa

When Nomura acquired a chunk of Lehman Brothers' crumbling empire last year, the brunt of the integeration process fell into the hands of the IT team, which completed the challenging task in a matter of weeks. Writer Michelle Price

The IMF's information technology team has had a busy past two years as the fund has taken on an increased workload as a result of the global recession, leading the team's head, Jean Salvati, to implement a new software system to cope with the extra demand. Writer Michelle Price

The financial crisis has dramatically undermined consumer trust in the retail banking industry. It is now more vital than ever that banks are able to efficiently and effectively communicate with their customers. In this Masterclass, Howard Boville, head of global banking at BT, and Gary Bennett, director of service provider development at Avaya, discuss how banks can model their communications and technology infrastructure in order to improve the quality of their customer service. Writer Michelle Price

John Killey, head of Citi realty services for Europe, the Middle East and Africa

The growing threat of energy insecurity poses many risks to corporate institutions worldwide. Some banks are now looking to take greater control of their energy infrastructures - but there are several challenges to overcome. Writer Michelle Price

David Anderson, CEO of Co-Operative Financial Services, is faced with overseeing the organisation's core banking overhaul in parallel with the integration of the UK's second largest building society, Britannia. Writer Michelle Price

Integrated applications and centralised processing are essential for modern, efficient banking. But how easy is it to achieve these technological and operational goals, which if done properly can transform the business? This was the key issue debated at a series of round table lunches hosted by The Banker and FT Global Events recently in Jordan, Portugal and Azerbaijan. The round tables were sponsored by Oracle Financial Services Software but independently edited by The Banker.