Lower debt levels and comparatively low rates of bad loans mean that even the poorer Latin American countries are faring better than their developed counterparts when it comes to exposure to the financial crisis. Writer Charles Piggott.

The Russian banking sector has been transformed by the crisis in 2008, but signs of the change were already clear in the end-2007 data included in these rankings, as the difficulties of raising capital began to bite. Writer Philip Alexander.

Many of the world’s top financial brands took a beating in 2008, but not every bank suffered. The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands listing puts a financial value on the leading brands and ranks them accordingly. Philip Alexander reports.

The financial crisis has rocked the globe and fundamentally changed the way we assess what makes a country successful.The Banker’s latest rankings, which focus on low leverage, reveal some surprising results. Charles Piggott reports

Nigerian banks are continuing to make headway, but for the time being South Africa remains dominant. Writer Stephen Timewell.

How profitable are Islamic financial institutions? Will they become more profitable? And what role will Islamic institutions have in the future?

This new industry is spurring many entrants as huge liquidity in the Gulf is fuelling new ventures and creating a diverse range of opportunities both within and outside the region.

Islamic finance is broad based and in the Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions listing, The Banker wanted to identify and rank key sectors within the industry that are generally excluded from its Top 1000 World Banks ­listing.

The leading countries in the world, based on sharia-compliant assets (SCAs), are determined not only by the size of each country’s overall financial sector but also by the degree to which the country is sharia ­compliant.

The latest Top 25 country ranking of the 2008 Top 500 Islamic financial institutions listing demonstrates not only robust growth among the major countries but also the key development of Islamic finance in a number of relatively new markets, such as Indonesia, Qatar and the UK.