Angola’s banking sector has been hit by a recent rise in non-performing loans, a legacy of reckless lending in the past decade. But bankers are optimistic that the worst is over. 

After years of rationalisation and restructuring following the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s, Japan's largest banks – Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group – are much healthier than their Western and Chinese counterparts, but they are still struggling to increase profitability.

After years of neglect, the Iraqi banking sector offers promise once again. Mobile banking, trade finance and infrastructure financing opportunities are proving attractive to existing lenders and the wave of new entrants looking to break into the market. But, before the tide can finally turn, there are regulatory issues that need addressing.

The damage that a fraud investigation can wreak on a bank is already well documented, but what measures can banks take to protect themselves against such incidents and minimise the repercussions if a fraudster does slip through the net? 

Portugal's banks have undergone a radical transformation in the past few years, emerging from the country's economic crisis better capitalised, leaner and more efficient than ever. Profitability, however, is yet to recover. 

With performance starting to pick up again in the Kuwaiti banking sector, and strong growth potential both in the domestic market and in neighbouring Iraq, the small country is finding itself the focus of a growing number of lenders, with competition among them growing fierce.

Following a difficult few years, Italy's banks received a windfall from the central bank after the institution revalued its share 'capital', but other eurozone lenders claim that this gives Italian players an unfair advantage in the upcoming asset quality review.