With the recent Libor scandal failing to shake asset managers' confidence in London, emerging centres will have to work hard if they are to overtake the UK capital as the world's leading asset management centre.

After an unprecedented wave of deleveraging and reorganisation, Royal Bank of Scotland’s head of markets and international banking for Europe, Middle East and Africa says the bank’s strategy for the future is now taking shape.

The people of Scotland will have the opportunity to vote on the country's independence from the rest of the UK in 2014. But while the decision will inevitably be an emotive one, the financial, business and political ramifications cannot be ignored, and it appears that there is still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding them.

Libor has come under huge scrutiny since Barclays was fined for manipulating it. While few bankers believe it can be replaced, even its staunchest supporters say it needs to be reformed. But it is not obvious how. 

The metals brokerage market is consolidating as regulatory costs rise, but the growth of Asian demand means this is still a valuable business for those with the right scale and organisation.

Emerging market growth is changing the strategy for the commodities business at the same time that tighter regulation is altering the relationship between banks, merchant traders and investment funds.