Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is facing challenging times. Oil prices that continue to be pushed up by events in the Middle East, fears of slower economic growth and falling stock prices, to name but a few. Unflattering comparisons by some commentators to his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, do not help.

After losing the football World Cup by a missed penalty, France has won a bigger share of its retail banking market back.

S&P seeks more accurate comparison of capital adequacy while BCG advises foreigners on starting out in China.

Forty-four per cent of Spanish bank BBVA’s 2005 attributable net profit came from Latin America. There is both a downside to this – excessive dependence on a risky region – and an upside – an incredible opportunity to leverage a strong franchise.

There was an exchange of employees this month between Goldman Sachs and the US government.

The past year has seen an explosion of Russian initial public offerings (IPOs). This month, one of them took a detour on its way to the market.

Cameroon’s minister of economy and finance Polycarpe Abah Abah receives the Finance Minister of the Year 2006Africa award from The Banker’s economics editorJames Eedes. The presentation was made in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, during the annual meeting of the African Development Bank. (Photo: Augustin G. Zevounou)

It came as a surprise to read some of the comments in the article in April’s issue of The Banker headlined “Progress slow on modernisation” on Slovenian banking.

Even with the cool season at its door, Brazil is hotter than ever – at least in banking terms. The past month has seen two of the biggest international banks taking stakes in Brazilian financial institutions, reflecting the country’s growth in both commercial and investment banking markets.

Total net private capital flows to emerging markets are expected to reach $357bn this year, down from the record $400bn posted in 2005 but still the second highest ever recorded.