Efforts to overcome the turbulence of 2004 have resulted in a growing economy and a positive outlook.

Ben Aris reports from Moscow on the increasing trend of using structured products to cope with consolidation.

Futures and options trading in Russia is making a tentative comeback since its curtailment in the wake of the 1998 financial crisis. Ben Aris in Moscow reports.
There are few places in the world where the future is less certain than in Russia, but maturing valuations of Russian stocks means an increasing number of investors are willing to bet on it.

Russia’s central bank has moved out of the Kremlin’s pocket and is starting to regulate the sector aggressively. Ben Aris reports from Moscow.

Romania is speeding towards EU accession, as witnessed by the growing sophistication of its banking sector, and a stream of sell-offs. Tom Blass reports.

References to the Guild of International Bankers in London may cause some readers to think it is a venerable institution with deep historical roots.

Q: What measures are you taking to improve the economic situation?
A: With the collapse of the Soviet Union 15 years ago all our economic relationships were destroyed and the DPRK was damaged a great deal.

On a visit to Pyongyang, Stephen Timewell examines the state of North Korea’s fledgling banking system, which is slowly developing in order to increase foreign trade.

When Dietrich Hoppenstedt, president of the German Sparkassen Association (DSGV), retires at the end of September 2006, many of the association’s faithful will be very sorry to see him go.

Germany’s political battles may be over but the war over reform of the country’s banking sector has only just begun. Jan Wagner reports.
While some kind of political truce has been reached in Germany, the real fight for financial reform rages on. By the standards of modern banking systems everywhere, Germany’s three-pillar system of private banks, state-owned savings banks (Sparkassen) and co-operative banks is antiquated and inefficient.