The scale and length of the current recession has legitimised a return to the debate on introducing overt monetary financing as a policy option, according to economist Lord Adair Turner.

Singapore's big three lenders may still be dominating the top positions in the Association of South-east Asian Nations ranking by Tier 1 capital by a considerable margin, but Thai and Malaysian banks now occupy six of the top 10 spots, while Indonesia's institutions are recording the region's strongest profitability ratios.

Senior figures at the Asian Development Bank explain why their priority is to ensure that the continent's growth benefits all of its population, countering the rising levels of inequality in the region over the past 20 years.

Despite its isolationist circumstances, North Korea has been developing an informal market economy on the back of its highly educated labour force. But the state's ambivalence about foreign investment and its geopolitical intransigence make it difficult to know how far the inroads made by outside investment can reach.

The healthy state of the Philippines economy is down to a combination of factors, according to the country's central bank governor, Amando Tetangco. He tells The Banker how he is working to emulate 2012's success in 2013 and beyond.

The days of the Philippines being one of Asia's underachievers are looking to be a thing of the past, according to the country's finance secretary, Cesar Purisima. The secret to the island nation's success, he tells The Banker, is good governance and a president that the country can unite behind.

Confidence is running high in the Philippine banking sector as the country enjoys low interest rates and improved stability. But with the 2015 deadline for the economic integration of the Association of South-east Asian Nations approaching, increased competition and a reshaping of the market seems inevitable.