Gilles Denoyel, deputy CEO of HSBC France, details the advantages Paris offers over other locations including an internationally renowned school of maths and finance and its access to the Eurosystem.

Given the Euronext/NYSE merger, Paris now has massive economies of scale to add to its world-renowned expertise in areas including derivatives and risk-based modelling. Arnaud de Bresson explains.

French finance minister Christine Lagarde talks to Courtney Fingar about the tax and labour reforms being pursued by the Sarkozy administration.

Italy’s economy is characterised by small and medium-sized family businesses, offering huge potential for private equity. David Lane reports from Rome .

Professor Joe Bannister, chairman of Malta Financial Services Authority, talks to The Banker about the role of the regulator and its vision for the industry in Malta.

BBVA may have grabbed the headlines for missed acquisitions but a bank that posts 20% a year profits growth, that pays a top return on equity as well as being a byword for prudence cannot be all bad, as Karina Robinson discovers.

The Islamic finance industry is rapidly evolving and expanding, with growth of banking assets estimated at $750bn and growing at a rate of 15% to 20% a year. Nabeel Shoaib explains.

Funding for RBS’ share of the ABN AMRO takeover has been secured with the largest ever Tier 1 capital securities issue. RBS director of capital management Ron Huggett talks to Edward Russell Walling.

For ABN AMRO’s pioneering property derivatives team the value of deals is mushrooming, but it is keen that other players enter the market and create greater liquidity. Joanne Hart reports.

Several financial institutions are on the brink of the abyss caused by the temporary closure of the asset-backed securities markets. Professor Jan Pieter Krahnen reports on the crisis and its first victims.