The US’s largest lender to college students, Sallie Mae (formally known as SLM Corporation) has agreed to be acquired by JPMorgan, Bank of America and private equity funds JC Flowers and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe for $25bn.

KPMG highlights the growth of China’s consumer banking markets while Mercer Oliver Wyman outlines the benefits that can be derived from Basel II implementation beyond simple regulatory compliance.

Hungary’s central bank governor Zsigmond Jarai (left) accepts the award for Central Governor of the Year, Eastern Europe, for 2006 from The Banker’s editor-in-chief, Stephen Timewell.

It has been an eventful month for Dutch bank ABN AMRO. A group of shareholders attacked the bank, calling for an end to its acquisition campaign and suggesting it spin off some divisions or put the whole bank up for sale. And a possible buyer did not wait long before knocking on the door.

Mercer Oliver Wyman highlights the strong performance of global financial services, particularly in emerging markets, while the World Bank names and shames those individuals it has sanctioned for fraud and corruption.

Noel Coward once wrote a song called ‘There are bad times just around the corner’, although I doubt he had the US economy in mind when he wrote it. However, as far as the US is concerned, in spite of the prognostications of many, the ‘corner’ has yet to be reached.

The Governor of the Bank of Zambia, Dr Caleb Fundanga (left) receives his awards for both Global and African Central Banker of the Year from The Banker’s editor-in-chief, Stephen Timewell, at a ceremony with president Levy Mwanawasa at the State House in Lusaka.

London has established the world’s first secondary market for trading shariah-compliant Islamic bonds. Such bonds, also known as sukuk, are structured to pay profits from an underlying business rather than from interest, which is prohibited under Islamic law because the creation of money from money is considered sinful.

In contrast with Russia’s ‘iron fist’ reputation in the oil industry, president Vladimir Putin has expressed market-enlightened views about the country’s banking sector, simplifying foreign ownership rules.

IIF forecasts a fall in private capital inflows into emerging markets; the IMF assesses foreign influence on Chinese banking.