The time for recriminations is over. Iceland’s political and financial system must be rebuilt, and fast, if it is to maintain the quality of life to which its people has become accustomed. EU membership is increasingly regarded as the only viable option but it will be hotly contested. Writer Charlie Corbett in Reykjavik.

Through purchasing Dresdner Bank, Commerzbank has cemented its status as Germany’s number two retail bank. “Our geographic footprint broadens significantly, especially in important urban centres such as Munich, Berlin and Hamburg,” says Dr Achim Kassow, a member of the Commerzbank board of directors responsible for private, retail and small business banking.

The tools appear to be in place for Germany’s real economy to maintain funding sources during the global downturn, but restructuring the country’s hard core of troubled banks remains a more complex problem. Writer Philip Alexander.

The president of the Inter-American Development Bank explains how it will be working to help Latin American and Caribbean countries to help themselves in 2009.

Nigeria’s banks have so far been relatively insulated from the credit crisis in the West, but with external sources of capital rapidly drying up, how long can this situation last? Erastus Akinbola is chief executive of one of Nigeria’s leading banks, Intercontinental Bank, and president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria. He spoke to Charlie Corbett about the impact of the credit crisis on Nigeria’s banking industry.

Falling international equity markets have swept Africa’s capital markets along with them. But the world’s poorest continent will continue to improve the sophistication of its exchanges. Writer Stuart Theobald.

In the US’s multi-layered banking sector, the credit crisis is being felt on all levels. But as the Treasury launches wave after wave of initiatives to protect the larger banks, and the smaller community banks stand firm due to their low exposure to subprime, it is the medium-sized banks that face the greatest threat. Writer Jane Monahan in Washington, DC.

After years of underdevelopment, Laos is reforming its laws and encouraging greater banking activity in anticipation of gaining WTO membership. Writer Nick Freeman in Vientiane.

The Russian banking sector has been transformed by the crisis in 2008, but signs of the change were already clear in the end-2007 data included in these rankings, as the difficulties of raising capital began to bite. Writer Philip Alexander.

As Russia undergoes its own financial crisis, the country’s authorities appear to be encouraging consolidation to remove the weaker players. But buyers will be taking a close look at their assets. Writer Ben Aris.