Western Europe's slow growth, low-interest rate environment is not the most lucrative landscape for the region's banks, but this year's western European Bank of the Year winners have shown impressive levels of expertise and innovation to negotiate these difficult times. 

Slow growth across Europe and Western sanctions on Russia coupled to make 2015 a difficult year for many central and eastern European banks but those featured in this year's Bank of the Year awards remained nimble allowing them to produce impressive results.

Home to some of the world's largest and fastest-growing banks, competition among lenders in Asia-Pacific was tough, with only the most innovative and profitable players picking up honours in this year's Bank of the Year Awards.

From large global banking brands to smaller domestic lenders, the list of winners from the Americas is diverse. The full results and write-ups detail how each of them managed to stand out from the crowd. 

Middle Eastern banks performed strongly in 2014, making the selection for Bank of the Year particularly tough. Read which banks made it onto the list of winners.

With the highest number of submissions to this year’s awards coming from Africa, competition in each of the country categories was tough. The full results and write-ups reveal which banks shone through.

The Financial Stability Board has worked hard to complete its total loss-absorbing capacity rules for banks, and individual jurisdictions must ensure clear and co-ordinated implementation. 

Renewed interest in commercial card programmes has led to a flurry of innovation in the space, ultimately giving corporates more flexibility.