Latest articles from Americas

Argentina's economy has been a boon to a country's banking sector, are tough times around the corner?

Are Argentina's banks headed for a hard landing?

February 14, 2011

A booming economy is behind the record income for Argentinian banks last year but growing inflation is placing the sustainability of these profits in doubt.

Ernesto Cordero

Highway to recovery: Interview with Ernesto Cordero, Mexico’s finance minister

February 14, 2011

Mexico's finance minister explains how investing in infrastructure will rebalance the country's export-heavy economy

Bogota was recently ranked as the world's riskiest business destination, but such attitudes are becoming outdated as crime levels fall

Colombia sheds poor image to emerge as up and coming IT hub

January 31, 2011

The negative perceptions of Colombia that have dogged the country over the past few decades are finally being shed, causing global companies to take note of its role as an up-and-coming IT hub for Latin America.

Brazil's increasing affluence is creating an expanding clientele for wealth management firms

Wealth management boom in Brazil

January 31, 2011

Business is booming for the wealth management sector in Brazil. Large domestic banks still dominate the industry but international players have found plenty of scope to move in on this expanding market.

Felipe Larraín, finance minister, Chile

Chile's finance minister, Felipe Larraín on the country's plans to double growth

January 28, 2011

The Chilean government has ambitious plans to double growth and – ultimately – eradicate poverty, all while contending with currency appreciation.

Jose Dario Uribe teaser

José Darío Uribe on Colombia's financial transformation

December 23, 2010

Other countries may be dogged by recession, but José Darío Uribe, governor of the Central Bank of Colombia, says the country's financial sector is undergoing a transformation.

The power behind Bolivia's new energy

December 8, 2010

Bolivia is barely recognisable from the state it was in 20 years ago - it now has a budget surplus and a store of foreign currency, and there are even plans to make the country an export hub for electric power and natural gas. Hugh O'Shaughnessy met Bolivia's vice-president Álvaro García Linera to discuss the country's prospects.

Trouble in paradise

Under fire but fighting back

December 8, 2010

Investment into Caribbean offshore financial centres has fallen in recent years but is now picking up. However, these centres are also under international pressure over their tax and transparency arrangements, a criticism many of them view as unfair. Writer Silvia Pavoni

Latin strategy

Banks fight for position in Latin America

November 24, 2010

The banking landscape in Latin America has changed considerably in recent years as local banks have strengthened while some foreign groups have been in retreat. Silvia Pavoni reports.

a large crowd of supporters

Uruguay's banks being crippled by caution

November 24, 2010

As governments in the Western world attempt to implement more conservative regulation within their financial markets, banks in Uruguay are stagnating because of the country's overcautious economic approach over the past decade. Writer John Rumsey