Remus Brett reports on the results of a survey into sales productivity among European banks and gives advice on staying ahead of the pack.

Unicredit’s head of retail Roberto Nicastro explains why the bank’s cross-border strategy for its 19-country franchise won’t necessarily entail standardisation. He talks to Stephen Timewell.

The backlog in clearing and settlement of credit derivative trades and the increased risk of confirmation failure is leading to pressure on firms to tighten up procedures. Banks that do not pay due attention to operational risk management issues could wind up in difficulty, says Nick Kochan.

Basel II encompasses provisions for supervisory oversight and market discipline that will make banks’ risk management performance transparent to rating agencies, regulators and other stakeholders.

The rise of China and India in economic terms has been meteoric but, while their global banking presence remains relatively minor today, global dominance in this sector, too, is inevitable.By Chris Skinner.

JPMorgan Chase’s global chief information officer tells Dan Barnes of the importance of being crisp, timely and final when it comes to technological decision making.

A chip’s ability to process information is not purely a hardware issue. The task is also dependent on the software application that is giving instructions on how this is to be done.

The microfinance sector has been looking for ways to bypass the ‘branch infrastructure problem’ and mobile phones may be the answer to reaching rural clients, says Gautam Ivatury.

Estimates put funds lying dormant in accounts at £1bn-£5bn for the UK alone. But the issue of how to identify this cash and what to do with it is far from straightforward, as Stephen Timewell explains.

Retail lending in emerging economies across the globe has been booming, writes Scott Bugie in a Standard & Poor’s report*.