Looking at this year's Top 25 central and eastern European (CEE) banks, one could be forgiven for thinking the region's transition to a market economy had gone into reverse.
Chávez calls for calm after bank takeovers
July 6, 2010President Chávez: no more nationalisations
President Hugo Chávez has sought to allay investors' fears after the Venezuelan government took over Banco Federal. The president said he has no plans to take over more banks at this time and he urged people not to withdraw their deposits. The move follows a flurry of bank nationalisations and the creation of a new regulated foreign exchange market to stop the rapid depreciation of the bolivar and stem capital flight - thought to be about $24bn last year.
The G-20? Better to make changes to the IMF
July 6, 2010The G-20 played a key role in averting a global depression but the IMF has greater overall legitimacy.
Tightened belts loosen due to income crisis
July 6, 2010Over the past two decades, as banking in many countries has moved from being an activity performed chiefly in the state sector to one done mainly in the private sector, the emphasis has been on costs, efficiency and shareholder returns.
Capital ratio takes huge leap
July 6, 2010The recovery in pre-tax profits to assets and pre-tax profits to Tier 1 capital ratios are a sign of a return to more healthy levels in the aftermath of the crisis.
Asset quality challenge intensifies for world banks
July 6, 2010With the onset of the financial crisis, The Banker has focused much more of its Top 1000 data gathering on asset quality. This year, a total of 179 banks supplied comprehensive data on their levels of impaired assets, compared with 142 last year. While this still accounts for only 18% of total banks in the Top 1000, it is sufficient to begin to understand global trends in asset quality.