Latest articles from World

Good timing for foreign inroads

December 4, 2006

Ukrsotsbank is expected to pass into the hands of Italy’s Banca Intesa next year. Chairman Boris Tymonkin talks to Yuri Bender about the benefits for both sides.

Microstate with macro ambitions

December 4, 2006

David Lane reports on the tiny state of San Marino’s bid to take on the likes of Ireland and Luxembourg.

Sewing the seeds of global growth

December 4, 2006

Bert Heemskerk, chairman of Rabobank, tells Stephen Timewell about the Dutch bank’s programme of overseas expansion with a food and agricultural bias.

AFRICA: STANDARD CHARTERED BANK

December 4, 2006

With banks in nine countries across sub-Saharan Africa, Standard Chartered Bank has a formidable network that produced a number of strong performances in 2005. Of the continent’s 23 country awards, Standard Chartered managed to win a record five in Botswana, Cote D’Ivoire, The Gambia, Kenya and Sierra Leone.

MIDDLE EAST: AHLI UNITED BANK

December 4, 2006

Ahli United Bank’s (AUB) focused regional growth strategy, strong performance and recent strategic acquisitions in Kuwait, Iraq and Egypt make it the most prominent regional player in the Middle East over the past year or more.

LATIN AMERICA: HSBC

December 4, 2006

When HSBC announced its record-breaking $21bn pre-tax profit for 2005, it almost went unnoticed that the region that accounts for the smallest portion of the group’s bottom line was also the one that showed the strongest growth for the year.

ASIA: Standard Chartered Bank

December 4, 2006

Nobody knows how to do business in Asia better than Standard Chartered. The bank has continued to prove its entrepreneurship in emerging markets thanks to exemplary management policies and a motivated multicultural staff.

Central and Eastern Europe: RZB/RAIFFEISEN INTERNATIONAL

December 4, 2006

Austria’s RZB/Raiffeisen Inter-national (RI) continued to expand regionally, especially in the CIS, and continued to produce strong performances.

Russian derivatives go legit

December 4, 2006

Russia’s futures trading went mainstream in June after the Duma passed laws to make it a bona fide business. Ben Aris reports on how banks are gearing up to play in this as yet plain vanilla market.

East Europe boom presents challenges

December 4, 2006

Eastern Europe’s transformation, especially that of its financial sector, is unprecedented. Unsurprising then that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has made it the focus of its latest transition report.

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