Jane Monahan talks to Barney Frank, chairman of the US Financial Services Committee, about its plans.

Bill Rhodes, chairman of Citibank and winner of The Banker’s Lifetime Achievement Award talks to Stephen Timewell about his 50-year career, offering insights on the Latin American debt crises of the 1980s through the end of communism and expansion eastwards, to the present day rise of protectionism.

It is not just London that is taking business from New York, Asian markets are also rapidly growing in stature. Jules Stewart explains.

In the current market environment, not every bank chief executive feels relaxed talking to the press unless it is part of a public relations strategy to calm frayed nerves among investors. But Stan O’Neal, chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch, was happy to talk to The Banker’s editor Brian Caplen about the volatility in the markets and the firm’s longer-term strategic positioning as well as social issues arising from globalisation, such as inequality.

High standards of governance will be essential to convince local investors to participate in the regional financial centres that are springing up around the world. And London looks set to benefit from business with those centres as they adopt EU-style regulations, writes Brandon Davies.

Aite Group reports on US banks’ small business strategies while the Microfinance Information Exchange unveils benchmarks.

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.

What makes a successful international financial centre? Michael Imeson reports on the imperfect art of ascertaining which world city is truly the greatest.

Bank of America has stolen the crown of Citigroup. The bank, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, motored ahead of the erstwhile number one bank in our list and is now the largest bank in North America and in the world, with Tier 1 capital of $91,065m.

The US and IMF’s targeting of China’s currency has as much to do with playing to the political gallery as it does with economics.