Japanese banks have put themselves on a more solid footing, shown in particular by the performance of Mitsubishi UFJ, but the sluggish economy means their achievements have yet to reach spectacular levels. Writer Brian Caplen

The sharp fall in Gulf property markets has dampened confidence in a market that many expected to be relatively immune to the global financial crisis. But sharia-compliant assets are still growing, and perhaps tougher times will encourage a more sophisticated industry.

From Hong Kong to London, established global financial centres are looking to reinvent themselves as Islamic finance hubs and capture a slice of a fast-growing and still largely untapped market.

A banker dealing with a phone enquiry at National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia, which tops The Banker's Arab banks ranking this year.

Buoyed by the recent stress test results, Europe's banks are maintaining the effort to deleverage, but are hampered by slow growth and volatile capital markets. Writer Brian Caplen

Caribbean economies have been hit hard by the global crisis, the Haiti earthquake and the near-collapse of CL Financial in Trinidad though its top performers still have plenty to shout about. Writer Silvia Pavoni