Awash with liquidity, Kuwait's banks are struggling to find opportunities to deploy their capital. Implementation of the country's much-heralded $113bn Economic Development Plan is making slow progress amid parliamentary disputes, and banks remain wary of the beleaguered investment and real estate markets.
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Strong domestic network helps Crédit Agricole during crisis
October 3, 2011French giant Crédit Agricole has been buffeted by speculation surrounding the fate of the eurozone, but CEO Jean-Paul Chifflet explains how the right combination of international expansion and domestic branch network has kept the bank well positioned.
Amcon bears the burden of Nigeria's troubled banks
October 3, 2011By taking on their non-performing loans, Nigeria’s state-owned bank, Amcon, has played a pivotal role in ensuring that the country’s banks are up and running again just two years after their crisis. However, its chief executive is keen to stress that its work is far from over.
Lebanon's urgent need for economic reform
September 7, 2011Blom Bank's chairman Saad Azhari, Banque Audi's group CFO Freddie Baz, Byblos Bank's executive director Sami Haddad and the Lebanese Banks Association's secretary general Makram Sader discuss privatisation, economic reform and other issues facing the new Lebanese government.
Zimbabwe's finance minister knuckles down to an unenviable task
September 1, 2011Finance minister Tendai Biti has helped turn around Zimbabwe’s economy since taking office in 2009. But he faces a tough task trying to lure foreign investors to a country whose politics are still so messy.
Is CRD4 too far, too soon for a fragile Europe?
September 1, 2011The European Commission has finalised its proposal on the fourth iteration of the Capital Requirements Directive. It makes the EU the first jurisdiction to pass into law the Basel III rules agreed last year. Many are worried about the impact it may have while European economies remain fragile.
HSBC and SABB pull off landmark sharia-compliant deal in Indonesia
September 1, 2011It has taken nearly two years, but Indonesian mobile telecoms operator Axis has secured $1.2bn of sharia-compliant financing. For many of the players involved, it was their first dealing with sharia principles, presenting HSBC and its Saudi affiliate with a complex task.
Agustin Carstens: central banks hold the key to financial stability
September 1, 2011Agustín Carstens, central bank governor of Mexico suggests that central banks must play a more pivotal role in order to prevent such a widespread and deep-rooted crisis hitting again.
ESMA's Maijoor: Regulating the rating agencies
September 1, 2011ESMA's Steven Maijoor argues that stricter regulation will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of credit rating agencies and help restore confidence in their ratings.
Guy Verhofstadt: EU members must pull in the same direction
September 1, 2011The EU has lost its way. Only by reverting to its original intention – of pooled sovereignty with all members pulling in the same direction for the greater good – can it get begin to recover from the crisis that currently engulfs it.