Nowhere was hit as hard by the credit crisis as Iceland, but as the country rebuilds its economy and banking sector, it is determined to learn from this harshest of lessons.

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.

FX prime brokerage is a mysterious financial service. Natasha de Terán talks to experts in the field to clarify exactly what it is, its place within a bank's portfolio, and what it can offer clients.

H E Rasheed Al-Maraj, Governor, Central Bank of Bahrain

The malaise that has hit the world's economies has left Bahrain relatively unscathed, leaving the country to concentrate on its Islamic finance offerings.

The Bracken column is named after Brendan Bracken, the founding editor of The Banker in 1926 and chairman of the modern-day Financial Times from 1945 to 1958.

During the past two years, investors have faced one of the most challenging environments in living memory. When confidence in banks falters and markets crash, equity and debt investors are left asking: what will aid recovery and help prevent another crisis? We would argue that changes to financial disclosure and reporting are required. Specifically, investing in banks continues to be complicated by inconsistent accounting rules, fragmented regulation and less confidence in management to deliver.

Evidence suggests that infrastructural stimulus initiatives often detract from the economy in the long term.