The US firm is committed to breaking into the European debt markets – again

Santander's retail banking specialists' biggest challenge to date will be to turn around the fortunes of Abbey. Can the Spanish bank's model be successfully applied to the highly competitive UK market?

Boards are faced with a tough decision on a structure to combine the banks' strengths in central and eastern Europe

Fund management:

The US firm's business mix is making it more difficult to bring success in the primary markets

"This is the best year without a doubt. We are not in the charity business, right? We are doing this to make money and you can rest assured we are very successful in our business." -An unnamed banker making one of the more aggressive – and honest – pitches for a Euromoney Award for Excellence

"In 1994 banks held 70% of all loans. That's now dropped to 29%. Institutional investors now hold 64% of loans. That's not syndicated lending, it's capital markets. They need to change the name."

Banks miffed at Deutsche's fees

Greater competition and increasingly complex customer needs are forcing service providers to reassess their strategies.

The US economy is in a fool's paradise – Europe and Japan are by no means doomed to lag behind it. But none of these rivals can afford to abandon free trade to cope with China's massive growth

These benchmark awards highlight high-quality products and services across all areas of commercial and investment banking, regionally and globally.

Fighting corruption, the scourge of the Philippines, was a major platform of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's election campaign in 2004. Elected, one would expect her to be proud of the zeal with which some in her administration are tackling the issue. It seems some of her colleagues were not so certain, however, and chose to take matters into their own hands.

"Alan Greenspan is positively giddy about the beneficial effects of credit derivatives," said Frank Partnoy at the Euromoney Global Borrowers Forum in London in June.

Brokers are looking to counterbalance the effects of exchange consolidation

In another example of Hutchison Whampoa raising cash to continue the long-term funding of its loss-making 3G business, the conglomerate announced in June the sale of stakes in Hong Kong's port operations to Singapore arch-rival PSA International. The group, led by Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, announced the sale of a 20% interest in cash cow Hutchison International Terminals (HIT) and a 10% stake in Cosco-HIT, a joint venture with China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co.

The masters of retail banking | Getting back to the Abbey habit | Awards for excellence - Best bank

Eight out of 10 investors say they have yet to use the heavily marketed trades

The tool will track the euro against major trading currencies and provide an important non-central bank benchmark

Investors may need more convincing if the inflation-linked market is to take off

Telecoms sector misses out on $390 million investment

Ameritrade stays independent and buys TD Waterhouse instead

The proposed removal of a cap on pension funds' foreign holdings could change the shape of Canadian fund management

Governments swap to raise creditworthiness

Cash-rich investors are looking to put their money to work

Singapore: CAO executives charged

GREs get a pick-up from rating change Government-related entities (GREs) got a substantial lift from Moody's Investors Service when the credit rating agency

The annual guide to the leading banks across the globe by market capitalization, plus all the other key statistics you need, including the largest banks in every region.

When JPMorgan Chase's Sedef Imer finishes her working day at the London office at the end of July, she won't be taking the tube home. Instead she's setting off to Sydney, Australia. Nothing odd in that one might think, but how about if that trip was being made on a recumbent bike (known by aficionados as "a bent").

An inflexible and costly labour market is often blamed for the eurozone's poor economic performance. But in Germany at least, times are changing. In an appeal to pure free-market economics, two Germans have launched a recruitment website where jobs go to the lowest bidder.

The bank is set to snatch Goldman's crown for the first half of 2005