On a visit to Pyongyang, Stephen Timewell examines the state of North Korea’s fledgling banking system, which is slowly developing in order to increase foreign trade.

An IIF report warns that inconsistent implementation of the Basel II capital accord could threaten the whole process, while research on European bank branches reveals that around a fifth are unprofitable, writes Stephen Timewell.

With an eye on China’s burgeoning consumer credit and retail markets, two American companies have invested in the future of Shenzhen Development Bank. Stephen Timewell reports.

Stephen Timewell questions Liu Mingkang, chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission, on capitalisation, corporate governance and the role of foreign banks.

Research on Austrian banks measuring the cost of implementing regulation may apply to institutions elsewhere, while Standard & Poor’s forecasts a lull in European cross-border mergers, writes Stephen Timewell.

Adel El-Labban, CEO of Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank, talks to Stephen Timewell about progress on his plans for a pan-Gulf retail network.
Most banks in the six states of the increasingly rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have tended to focus on their domestic markets and as a result remained relatively small compared with the region’s enormous wealth.
But now a few are breaking through traditional barriers, creating regional networks and realising some of the Gulf’s potential.
Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank (AUB) has been a pioneer of mergers and acquisitions in the Gulf and this remains central to the bank’s strategy.

Stephen Timewell reports from Reykjavik on Iceland’s rapid transformation into a pan-European banking force. Iceland is a truly amazing country. And it is not just the volcanoes, the geo-thermal springs or even singer Bjork that make it unique.
Iceland boasts a banking sector that almost doubled in asset size last year, an economy that grew at 5.2% in 2004 and an expected 6.6% this year and a GDP per capita amongst the highest in the world at $40,250 in 2004.

Bankers are already on the case of how China’s and the Gulf States’ huge reserves of foreign exchange can be put to best use.Stephen Timewell reports.

Research shows that foreign banks operating in Japan have found the going increasingly tough during the past 12 months while the US prepaid card market goes from strength to strength. Stephen Timewell explains.

Will the new Dubai International Financial Exchange fulfil the vision of its creators to become hub for the region? Omar bin Sulaiman, director general of the Dubai International Financial Centre, talks to Stephen Timewell.
The Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX), which was due to open on September 26, is an ambitious attempt to become the leading exchange between west Europe and east Asia.