With Colombia's GDP expected to rise by 5% for both 2011 and this year, and a growing sense of optimism across the country, president Juan Manuel Santos explains why he is buoyant over the future of a country once dogged by corruption and drug trafficking.
Dublin defies eurozone slump with strong financial services FDI figures
January 1, 2012Foreign direct investment into the eurozone's financial centres has been in decline since the onset of the region's crisis. However, thanks to some encouraging government policies, Dublin has defied the trend, attracting its highest ever level of FDI in 2011.
No quick fix to Brazil's huge infrastructure needs
December 15, 2011Brazilian infrastructure is in desperate need of investment if it is to support the country's growing economy. But with restrictions on foreign investment, limited public and domestic funding and opposition to further development from environmentalists, taking advantage of the plethora of opportunities in this sector is not straightforward.
Buenos Aires tops return on assets ranking
December 1, 2011Argentina’s banks had a record year in 2010, so it is no surprise to see its capital city at the top of the ROC and ROA rankings for IFCs.
Collaboration is key for IFCs worldwide to thrive
November 1, 2011Caught between the reputational damage inflicted to the world of finance by the financial crisis and the overwhelming regulatory response to it, international financial centres the world over are being faced with a number if challenges very different to those they have faced before.
Mexico's banks go from problem to solution
November 1, 2011Mexico's banks have gone from fuelling the country's economic disasters of the mid-1990s to creating a strong financial system that has provided the economy with robust support throughout the global economic downturn.
Top 150 Latin American banks
November 1, 2011While Brazil's banks predictably take the top spots in The Banker's Top 150 Latin American Banks ranking, a stellar year for Argentina's banks saw them posting impressive return-on-asset ratios.
Financial services firms flock to Latin America
November 1, 2011An increasingly successful financial sector has meant that in the past five years, Latin America has been able to bolster both its foreign direct investment inflows and outflows.
Will regulation redraw the international financial centre map?
October 3, 2011As the US and the EU focus on regulating different areas of the financial services industry, there is a temptation among financial institutions to relocate certain operations in order to evade strict new rules coming into play in certain jurisdictions. So is over-regulation posing a threat to the traditionally dominant international financial centres?
New York and London hold firm as world's top IFCs
October 3, 2011Despite all the talk of emerging economies overtaking the traditional international financial centre powerhouses of New York and London, the big two remain in the top positions in The Banker's ranking. However, the challengers to this crown are still making ground.