Latest articles from Melissa Hancock

A new entrants list of two halves

July 1, 2013

Organic growth from developing markets in Latin America and Asia and mergers of conversions in the developed world provide the stories behind the majority of new entrants in the 2013 Top 1000 World Banks ranking.

Emerging markets take profits crown

July 1, 2013

Banks from the emerging markets in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region dominate this year’s most profitable banks, leaving European banks with only two countries in the top 25 ranking. 

Highest Movers table shows story after China

July 1, 2013

The Highest Movers table of the Top 1000 has had a distinctly Chinese feel to it in recent years, but 2013's ranking shows rapid growth among financial institutions the world over, including in Europe's crisis economies.

On the rise: lenders such as Qatar National Bank have benefited from the country’s construction boom

Qatar's banks stand strong

June 3, 2013

Despite the rapid growth that Qatar – and its banking sector – has experienced in recent years, the country's government is not resting on its laurels and is actively looking to address issues such as an overcrowding of the market, overdependence on foreign funding and the economy’s lack of diversification. 

Saudi Arabia digs deep with infrastructure spending

May 1, 2013

Over the past few years, Saudi Arabia has been putting its vast oil wealth to work, upgrading its limited infrastructure in a bid to cater to the rising demand for office space, housing, schools and healthcare.

Saudi Arabia puts its capital to work

May 1, 2013

One of the few countries to remain largely unaffected by the global financial downturn, Saudi Arabia's economy is growing at a pace and, despite its expansionary fiscal policy, it continues to post a budgetary surplus. It has now started to put this capital to work in tackling pressing social issues, such as its high unemployment rate and housing shortage.

An enviable position

Saudi's banks enjoy an enviable position

May 1, 2013

Government spending has kept the Saudi Arabian economy buoyant over the past few years, allowing the country's banks to maintain a healthy profit level in 2012. And their prosperity is showing no signs of waning, with an ambitious home ownership target spurring growth in the mortgage market and momentum building in the small and medium-sized enterprise space.

Saudi Arabia's investment banking industry picks up the pace

May 1, 2013

Saudi Arabia's investment banking industry is gaining momentum, thanks in large part to a region-wide uptick in bond issuance, in mergers and acquisitions and growing demand for project finance. But the evolution of this sector is far from over, as the country's bankers turn their minds to deepening the markets and encouraging the liberalisation of the stock exchange.

Blom Bank

Lebanese banks look further afield for growth

May 1, 2013

With Lebanon's economy feeling the strains of political infighting and the two-year civil war in neighbouring Syria, its banks have been looking overseas in search of growth, establishing footholds in countries such as Turkey and Iraq, as well as seeking to consolidate their presence in Egypt and the Gulf.

Islamic finance in 2013

Islamic finance in 2013: beyond the growth

March 1, 2013

Year upon year, the Islamic finance industry posts stellar growth figures. However, as large Western lenders withdraw from the sector, is Islamic finance in as healthy a shape as the figures suggest? The Banker asks a number of experts in the field what the future holds for sharia-compliant banking.

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