As the financial crisis all but decimated venture debt in Europe, the possibility of its return is a thorny issue. While some countries are seeking alternative methods to fund start-up companies, others are preparing for business as usual.

Barclays Capital is most of the way through its audacious bid to transform its fixed-income prowess into an integrated investment banking offering. There are signs that the investment and effort are beginning to pay off in the equities business.

Sir David King, former chief scientific advisor to the UK government, believes the UK's policy-makers and financiers fail to support its promising low-carbon sector. The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, which he heads, is working to change that.

George Osborne, the UK's chancellor of the exchequer, urges all countries to play their part in redressing the global imbalances that allowed the credit crisis to happen. Interview by Courtney Fingar.

The UK's offshore financial centres do not deny that they have accommodating tax regimes, but they baulk at the label 'tax haven' and all the negative connotations that tag brings. Writer Charlie Corbett

The UK's regional financial centres are undergoing a financial and cultural renaissance. They are shrugging off the effects of the downturn, establishing themselves as viable alternatives to London and growing in both confidence and maturity. Writer Charlie Corbett

Troubled since 2005, the UK credit card industry has been suffering a severe test of profitability. But credit card issuers are hoping to rejuvenate the industry by moving to a more convenience-focused, sustainable and transparent business model.

The £22.5bn recapitalisation of Lloyds Banking Group last November not only kept the institution free from outright government control, but helped to rehabilitate the financial markets. Writer Edward Russell-Walling

As customer dissatisfaction with the UK's existing high street banks intensifies, new entrants are sprouting - many of which are extensions of established retail brands, striving to create the winning formula using their innate consumer insight. Will these new operations pose a sustained threat to the existing ones? Writer Michelle Price