Global Banking

ANNUAL SURVEY / ISLAMIC FINANCE Global Finance selects the winners in a fast-growing area of finance that combines investing according to the tenets of Islamic law with modern financial products and systems.   Islamic finance is a system of ethical ...

SECTOR REPORT / ISLAMIC FINANCE The range of Islamic finance techniques is growing rapidly, but some are concerned that the most innovative products may be flouting shariah principles.   While conventional financial markets are still reeling from the credit crunch, ...

CORPORATE TOOLBOX — SEPA Six months after SEPA’s introduction, banks are still trying to devise ways to encourage the businesses they serve to jump aboard. Additional optional services may provide the answer.   The introduction of the euro in January ...

INDIA     Reaching out: The US hopes its firms can win a slice of India's $500 billion spending spree. Bhopal Medical College Trust is the first Indian project to reap the benefits of US Export-Import Bank’s (Ex-Im Bank) Indian ...

ANALYSIS Deft maneuvering is helping Russia’s banks dodge the fallout from the credit crunch, but significant risks remain—particularly for smaller banks and their customers.     While the crises at UK mortgage lender Northern Rock and US investment bank Bear ...

GLOBAL     A cautious approach: Bank of England governor Mervyn King. The global credit crunch has highlighted just how far regulators and banks in some markets are willing to go to prop up the domestic financial system. However, clear ...

ANNUAL SURVEY / BEST EMERGING MARKET BANKS In our 15th annual survey of top banking performers in emerging markets, we name those banks that are consistently providing high levels of service in fast-evolving markets.   Download PDF (2 MB) The ...

ONLINE FRAUD New technologies and greater understanding of the mechanics of online fraud are helping corporations beat the bad guys.   The 2002 film “Catch Me If You Can” was based loosely on a book penned by Frank William Abagnale ...

WORLD’S BEST DEVELOPED MARKETS BANKS 2008 BEST DEVELOPED MARKETS BANKS Global Finance unveils its annual list of the best banks in developed markets around the world.     The past year has been one of the most tumultuous in recent ...

SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUNDS Sovereign wealth funds snap up bargains in one of the biggest financial industry land grabs in history.   Bader Al Sa'ad, head of Kuwait's SWF, helped arrange a huge cash infusion for Citi. To say Citi and ...

ANNUAL SURVEY/ TREASURY & CASH MANAGEMENT Global Finance selects the best treasury and cash management banks, globally and by region, and the best providers of treasury management systems and services by category. The past year has seen the challenges facing ...

BRAZIL BANKING & FINANCE Local banks’ stranglehold on the Brazilian market is coming under threat from acquisition-hungry international banks and investors.   Brazilian central bank governor Henrique Meirelles's steady hand has helped instill growing confidence in prospects for the country's ...

SECTOR REPORT / GLOBAL CUSTODY As their clients seek ever-greater returns on their investments, global custodians are finding themselves having to expand into some unfamiliar territory.     Consolidation has been a recurring theme in custody for more than a ...

ANNUAL SURVEY/ BEST TRADE FINANCE BANKS Trade finance banks are providing ever-more diverse and innovative services as world trade continues to expand.         On January 1, 2008, the multilateral trading system reached its 60th anniversary. Any celebrating ...

  China International and domestic banks are spreading the net ever wider in their efforts to bring financial services to China’s increasingly wealthy population.     China has outdone itself. The country’s economy grew by 11.5% in the first three ...

ANNUAL SURVEY/ BEST FX BANKS         The 54 central banks and monetary authorities that took a measure of the foreign exchange market last year under the auspices of the Bank for International Settlements discovered an unprecedented rise ...

CENTRAL BANKERS PERSPECTIVES     Central bankers deserve much of the credit for the financial world’s ability to ride out tumultuous market conditions. Global Finance asked the central bankers who were awarded “A” grades in our recent central banker report ...

A NEW DAWN     “O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world That has such people in’t!” —William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Act V, Scene I.       From the ...

SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY       The success of the euro has fueled interest in a plan for global monetary union that could end currency crises and boost world trade.       For decades there has been a groundswell ...

WORLD'S BEST INTERNET BANKS     In the second of a two-part series, Global Finance identifies the best corporate/institutional and consumer Internet banks globally and in six regions.       The best banks on the Internet have long treated ...