Banglalink was able to issue Bangladesh's first ever international bond under the stewardship of Citi, thanks to its great growth potential and the backing of foreign ownership.

Bangladesh's central bank governor, Atiur Rahman, spent an academic career championing the cause of the country's poor. He is now – through the implementation of a number of socially responsible economic policies – putting his theories into practice, and with some success.

Bangladesh’s finance minister talks to Jane Cooper about the country’s stable gross domestic product growth, achievements in tax revenues and why he is confident that Bangladesh will become a middle-income country in the next five years.

While the Asia-Pacific region's growth story over the past few decades has been powered by Japan and then China, at least as far as banking is concerned, when these two countries are removed from The Banker's Asia-Pacific rankings, it is Australia's banks that come to the fore. 

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Mohammed Yunus talks to Kala Rao about the growing role of microfinance in the global economy, the challenges the sector faces moving from the informal to formal status, the need for regulation and the role that governments can play.

Muhammad Yunus and Gremeen Bank show how microfinance loans can help to conquer poverty.