A second round of consolidation and privatisation has begun in Romania’s banking sector, offering attractive propositions for growth. Matei Paun reports.

Following a year of ups and downs in the Russian economy, The Banker’s conference on May 11 attracted a good crowd, interested in the latest developments, reports Gerry O’Kane.

Ben Aris reports on the banking sector surge in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, spurred on by EU accession and foreign interest in the market.

DEPFA has gone from strength to strength since it split from the Aareal mortgage bank and moved to Dublin. Jan Wagner reports from Frankfurt and Dublin on the most profitable bank active in Germany today.
Germany’s mortgage banks have been partying recently. In May, Eurohypo held a bash to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the “Jumbo Pfandbrief”. Since its introduction, the high-volume Jumbo has spawned a €600bn European market.
As the market leader, Eurohypo and its peers whooped it up. Attractions included plenty of champagne and an elephant installed in front of the Frankfurt stock exchange. Another Pfandbrief conference, replete with champagne, was hosted in June.

The UK’s Financial Services Authority has set the template for regulation around the world but it has recently come in for criticism from politicians and market players for overdoing the red tape. How justified are the claims? asks Nick Kochan.

China has entered a new cycle of growth and is willing to integrate further into the world economy, contributing to the greater global good, according to Jin Renqing, the Chinese finance minister.
The politician was speaking at a presentation to mark his acceptance of The Banker’s Finance Minister of the Year, Asia award in London early last month. Mr Jin outlined the latest macroeconomic developments in his home nation and revealed Chinese efforts to maintain a stable economic outlook.

Two main candidates are lining up to replace Enrique Iglesias as president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the biggest multilateral development bank in Latin America. Mr Iglesias, who has held the position since 1988, has decided to step down at the end of September.

The republican chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Richard Shelby, has thrown his support behind the new chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Christopher Cox. He also criticised former chair William Donaldson for failing to listen to his Republican peers.

UniCredit, Italy’s biggest bank by market capitalisation, last month announced a €15bn deal to merge with Germany’s HypoVereinsbank.
The news will be welcomed by the Italian president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who has a background in banking and is an unapologetic enthusiast for European integration.

The medium-term outlook for profits at US banks is gloomy, according to Andrew Smithers and George Leventis.