Profit pressure is a threat to every bank, says Qatar Islamic Bank’s group CEO Bassel Gamal, discussing how Qatar’s robust and well-capitalized banking sector is navigating the twin shocks of lower oil prices and coronavirus.

Colombia, more than any other Latin American country, has used the favourable winds of recent years to prepare for the rainy days ahead. But has finance minister Mauricio Cárdenas done enough to ensure Colombia stays afloat if there is a prolonged emerging market downturn?

When seven failing cajas were forced together, it was supposed to dampen their problems, not amplify them. Despite many doubts and hard decisions, Bankia’s chief executive Jose Sevilla Alvarez has been ambitious in restoring profitability and recovering the bank

ING’s chief executive walks and talks digital. Today he leads a stronger, freer institution – one that is using pure online banking to grab customers from incumbents. While the bank grows as a force in lending to industry around the world, it is also building up an SME and consumer-lending portfolio in some of Europe’s biggest retail markets

South Africa is plagued by slow growth and escalating debt levels. So how can the country’s new minister of finance, Nhlanhla Nene, get the economy moving again while balancing the budget?

Haunted by the global crisis, policymakers from the US to the UK are erecting national barriers and waging a war against too-big-to-fail banking. Vice-chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Thomas Hoenig defends the drive toward balkanization.

In an interview with Euromoney, Bundesbank board member Andreas Dombret sounds an upbeat note on the rigour of the ECB’s asset-quality review (AQR) and the eurozone’s resolution arrangements, but issues a sharp warning over banks’ risk-free treatment of sovereign debt.

Abebe Aemro Selassie, deputy director of the IMF’s African department, urges policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to focus on making sure banking systems are robust. Rather than looking for short-term rewards of opening credit lines, he wants to see well-capitalized and regulated banks in countries where fiscal deficits are controlled.

Mexico’s central bank surprised the market in June when it cut its base rate by 50 basis points. Euromoney’s central bank governor of the year in 2013 stresses that the credibility of the bank’s focus on inflation should not be doubted

The longest-serving central bank governor in the world has seen it all, and even now is keeping the economy growing despite domestic political paralysis and the spillover from Syria.

Nationality: Nigerian

Nationality: Ghanaian

In an interview with Euromoney, the group treasurer of South Africa-based explosives and chemicals group, AECI, shares his views on managing the company’s treasury operations, planning for international expansion, banking relationships and the prospect of adding international banks to its roster.

In a wide-ranging interview, Ann Cairns, MasterCard’s president of international markets and resident statistics buff, talks to Euromoney about tech-sector valuations, the digital revolution, acquisitions, regulation, and a yacht called…

Indonesia’s finance minister, Muhammad Chatib Basri, has a clear mission: to make government easier to navigate – for its people, its companies and for foreign investors. His pragmatic approach is paying dividends. So much so that he might even be asked to stay on.

Bank of Lithuania deputy chief Ingrida Šimonyte discusses the country’s euro-adoption plans, the challenges for the foreign-owned banking system, and the asset quality review in a wide-ranging interview.

Friedman joined UBS in March 2011, from his former role as CFO for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Madigan took on his role in April 2012 having joined JP Morgan in 2004. Before that he was head of emerging markets investments at Offitbank.

Moore joined HSBC in 2001 from his role as CIO at JPMorgan Chase’s personal asset management group.

Strobaek joined Credit Suisse in May 2013 from a Swiss family office, where he was the CEO, the CIO and a managing partner. Between 1996 and 2009 he was with UBS.

Wieting took on the role in May 2013 and was formerly a director and US economist in Citi Research. He joined Smith Barney in 1996 and became lead economist for Citigroup’s US institutional equities business in 2000.

In an in-depth interview with Euromoney, the head of the powerful Russian state lender discusses domestic bank competition, regulation, credit growth and reveals the impact of state ownership.

In an interview with Euromoney, Bogov discusses credit growth, bank regulation, foreign dominance of the country’s lenders, and the Vienna initiatives.

In a wide-ranging question-and-answer session, governor Jorgovanka Tabaković reveals shifting sands in the Serbian banking system, efforts to boost domestic sources of finance, capital market reform, Basel III and Vienna initiatives.

Since 2002, Ali Babacan has earned Turkey’s government the trust of markets. But what can the ruling party’s economy chief say to reassure investors now, after some government members’ attacks on the local financial sector? The answers are not all encouraging.

Xiang Songzuo, chief economist of state-owned ABC, says China’s next raft of reforms – from retooling state-owned enterprises to tackling local government debt burdens and environmental challenges – will involve a disruptive shift in the political system.

In an exclusive interview, Riad Salamé, the longstanding governor of Banque du Liban, discusses Lebanon’s perpetual political and economic challenges, the resilience of its banks and the prospects for needed structural reform. He even ponders what he would do if he were president for a day.

When did Burgan Bank decide to launch its international expansion strategy and why?

Famed for his tough approach to regulation, Czech central bank head Miroslav Singer now has his sights set on currency market intervention to reflate the country’s flagging economy. He talks to Euromoney about the limitations of fiscal policy, the prospects for Czech adoption of the euro, and the dangers of regulatory integration.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is convinced she can diversify the economy. But fears are growing that the end of the commodities super-cycle will imperil the growth model.