Moldova is a land-locked country of about 4.2 million people. Gross domestic product (GDP) for 2004 was about 32bn lei ($2.6bn), a growth of 7.3% in real terms over 2003. Major contributors to real GDP growth were agriculture (3.4%), services (2.6%) and manufacturing (0.9%).

The Banker met NCR’s new CEO Bill Nuti at this year’s user conference for the 132-year-old system vendor.

Although denied by China Construction Bank (CCB), there is talk of the Chinese bank being in preliminary discussions with US securities firm Bear Stearns to acquire a minority stake in the Wall Street resident.

A study of major retail banks in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific shows that they are optimistic about growth prospects, with 64% of bankers in the Asia/Pacific projecting annual growth in excess of 10% in the next three to five years, compared with 48% in the US and 32% in Europe.

After the latest investment bank beauty parade in Beijing for adviser to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s IPO, rating agencies’ focus has fallen on the city commercial banks. The Banker’s article ‘Best banks to buy in China’ (May 2005), identified several such banks in its analysis.

In a headline-catching hire, Rothschild has appointed former Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroeder as advisor in its European Advisory Council.

A new bank is set to come to life in France. The proud parents-to-be are Groupe Banque Populaire and Groupe Caisse d’Epargne, who have announced formal discussions to combine some of their respective businesses into a new company, Natixis.

The global financial services industry will triple in value within the decade, according to Mercer Oliver Wyman, and an IFS customer survey finds that there is an information deficit.

On the surface, the latest annual results for the top five banks in the US seem to continue the trend established in previous years: strong pre-tax profit growth on the back of strong growth in consumer and commercial loans and good deposit growth.

The Banker celebrated its 80th anniversary (1926-2006) at the Drapers Hall in London with a cake-cutting ceremony attended by (from left) Brian Caplen, editor; Stephen Timewell, editor-in-chief; and Michael Kirkwood, master of the Guild of International Bankers and managing director UK, Citigroup. The 80th anniversary celebrations included a keynote speech by Sir Peter Middleton, president of the British Bankers Association and senior warden of the Guild of International Bankers, which examined key events in UK financial history, and a seminar that included both an economics panel and a banking panel.