Ratings agencies would lose their credibility if they did not now cast doubt on the US government’s AAA ratings.

The US's Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act puts onerous burdens on foreign institutions to capture data about US clients and any clients with ownership of US assets, and to report related tax information to the country's tax authorities. For banks, it is a huge task but they had better do it well, as this is likely to be the first of many such schemes. 

The biggest US banks continue to diverge in terms of where they earn their revenue. Click here to read more.

The spike in loans to individuals over the past year has led some analysts to suggest there is a credit bubble in Brazil. Click here to find out more.

Central banks are looking for reasons not to hike interest rates. It is a gamble that may not pay off.

Commerzbank’s bold liability management exercise – the first to address Basel III at both ends of the capital structure – shows that banks need not wait for national and European regulators to finalise minimum capital requirements. It also serves as a possible blueprint for Germany’s other banks to strengthen their capital base.