By adopting practices more akin to the retail industry, two US banks are being hailed as models for boosting cross-sales rates. Tony Gandy reports on their winning formulae.

Primary and secondary Nigerian government bond markets are undergoing structural change with bond indices serving as economic benchmarks. Nick Kochan and Dapo Olagunjo explain.

Pension reforms are expected to transform the lives of Nigerians but capital markets need to be transformed to cope with the accumulation of liquidity created as a result. Nick Kochan reports.

Competition remains controlled but foreign players are finally getting their feet in the door, adding healthy variety to Kuwait’s banking sector, writes Nadine Marroushi.

One of the richest Gulf states, parts of Kuwait’s economy are booming, but politics and bureaucracy still hold back growth, write Nadine Marroushi and Jon Marks.

Qatar’s financial sector may be in for a shake-up as the country begins to fulfil the potential offered by huge oil revenues, writes Stephen Timewell.

As its gas boom continues, Qatar is attracting prestigious financial institutions interested in project finance and local wealth. Stephen Timewell reports from Doha.

Elected on an anti-poverty mandate, Ecuador’s government may be clashing with private banks over microloan fees but it accepts the economy should be capitalist, underpinned by a competitive banking system. Jane Monahan reports from Quito.

Local medium-sized banks have used the risky times of Argentina’s financial crisis to put their growth and expansion strategies into action. Karina Robinson reports from Buenos Aires.

Argentina’s economy is powering ahead but it comes at the price of old-fashioned price controls and, it is alleged, the manipulation of unwelcome economic data. Karina Robinson reports from Buenos Aires.