Foreign banks have taken advantage of recent deregulation and are setting up locally incorporated subsidiaries. But niggling restrictions remain, writes Michael Imeson.

The rapid rise in the number and size of sovereign wealth funds means that concerns about them are becoming more significant and shaping best practice has become more urgent, writes Robert M Kimmitt.

Recent turmoil shows the internal risk models of many banks are inadequate, underestimating the degree of risk exposure. The Basel Committee must therefore conduct further study before allowing banks to use the internal ratings based (IRB) approach for calculating regulatory capital, says Harald Benink.

Regulators should worry about incentives, liquidity and the perverse impact of past regulations, and seriously re-examine their approach in the light of the incoming evidence of culpability for the credit crisis, says Raghuram G Rajan.

The issue of transparency is pivotal to the present financial crisis, writes Jacques de Larosière. He shares his thoughts on the source of the crisis and what action needs to be taken to restore investor confidence.

Banks do not like talking about liquidity risk because it kills confidence and, historically, they have not been rewarded for candour on this particular topic. But events typified by the Northern Rock debacle show this attitude must radically change, say David Vander and Bill Cuthbert, co-founders of Liquidatum.

Angola’s retail banking network, while at an early stage of development, is growing fast along with an oil-driven economy. Rodrigo Amaral reports.

Santander’s takeover of ABN Amro Banco Real has changed Brazil’s banking landscape, but the integration process may not be easy. John Rumsey reports.

Bolivia’s finance minister Luis Alberto Arce outlines a programme of state loans to small enterprises and attacks the country’s domestic banks for acting like a syndicate, stifling competition.

Bolivia’s banking sector is thriving on the back of a strong economy, despite fears of a political clash with the leftist government of president Evo Morales. Jules Stewart reports.