Abbey's CEO tells how his decision to pull the bank back from the mortgage market and transform it into a full commercial bank has helped it to thrive during the fallout of the crisis.

Sir Winfried Bischoff, chairman of Lloyds Banking Group

The UK is positioned to play a key role in assisting the development of new and emerging financial centres.

Merrill Lynch's orchestration of the EDF purchase of British Energy was one of the most complex and drawn-out deals of its kind ever undertaken. Writer Edward Russell-Walling

The retail banking industry in the UK has been unsophisticated and lacking in transparency for too long. Now is the time for the banks to move boldly and learn from other retail sectors. Writer Michelle Price.

London’s role as a global financial centre has been damaged by the current crisis and the UK’s ruling Labour Party must bear some of the responsibility for this. However, there is a political consensus to remedy the situation.

Understanding UK bank strategies can be difficult. The past year has seen not only Royal Bank of Scotland’s joint acquisition of the Netherlands’ giant ABN AMRO but also the disastrous run on Northern Rock, record 2007 profits at HSBC Holdings and, last month, RBS’s first half-year loss in 40 years, following $11.4bn in writedowns.

UK banks may have taken significant hits on their profit and loss accounts as a result of the subprime crisis, but they have also strengthened their capital and balance sheets significantly.

The UK faster payments initiative is expected to revolutionise the way consumers and companies do business, and yet it was launched in May with little fanfare. Charlie Corbett explores the impact of the new system and why the trumpets were muted.

One strategy that Nigerian banks are following to boost return on capital is setting up shop in London. Nick Kochan explores the challenges they face.