With nearly 30 years’ experience at the central bank, Durmus Yilmaz is the ideal person to steer the country’s financial system through the global credit crisis. Sudip Roy reports.

The finance minister has enhanced his country’s reputation for sound fiscal policy that takes full account of social justice, while a strong regulatory regime has kept the financial sector out of the chaos. Helen Avery reports.

This recession is unusual in that it was not triggered by commercial real estate but has dragged the sector down with it. However, this does not mean that recovery for this asset class will be any quicker or less painful. Louise Bowman reports.

Russia’s capabilities have been stretched by the global financial crisis and an economic slowdown but its dominant position as a commodity exporter can still be a strength if the necessary reform and reconstruction measures are put in place. A panel of Russia analysts discusses the key issues.

Russia’s president is distancing himself from the financial corruption of the past few years and pushing through legislation to curb insider trading. Russia’s rehabilitation with outside investors should do wonders for the country’s cost of capital. Elliot Wilson reports.

The country’s banking crisis of 2000/01 spurred the regulatory regime that has served it so well during today’s global turmoil. But can it continue on a path of sustainable, low-volatility growth? And are investors demanding too high a risk premium for a stable credit and solid banking system?

How much longer can Turkish banks increase profits while the economy shrinks? The luck and skill of the industry have meant that defaulting borrowers have not yet caused a credit-quality crisis. But in Turkey, financial meltdown is often just around the corner. Dominic O’Neill reports from Istanbul.

The post-credit-crunch environment has thrown the spotlight on intra-day liquidity facilities. Once taken for granted, these have now become a symbol of the changing relationships between banks and clients in cash management, and of the stresses still inherent in the global credit system.

The local speculators who dominate trading in Turkey’s burgeoning equity derivatives market have had a roller-coaster ride over the past year. But the market’s popularity has continued to grow and it looks set to become even busier. Dominic O’Neill reports.

Raiffeisen International has continued to post healthy profits despite difficult economic in the central and eastern European countries in which it operates. Chief executive Herbert Stepic accepts that the financial world has changed but tells Euromoney he believes there is no need for draconian regulation.

Nigeria’s home-grown banking bubble was peremptorily burst by the central bank governor last month. Five bank managing directors were summarily removed and the four that hadn’t fled were arrested on charges of financial irregularities, with their irresponsible loan policies given a public airing. Nick Kochan reports.

Gulf project finance has become a tougher market since the credit crunch. But local banks are plugging some of the funding gaps and international banks will still take on sound projects if the terms are right. Nick Kochan reports.

Latin America’s banks have stood apart from their Western peers during the financial crisis. Senior bank executives from across the region discuss the impact of the crisis and their plans for the coming year.

Iran’s privatization programme is putting shares in the hands of quasi-state organizations. That’s partly because the domestic private sector is starved of funds and foreign investment is hampered by US sanctions and local restrictions. Mainly, though, it’s because the ruling elite wants to retain control. Angus McDowall reports.

Latin America’s biggest bank is difficult to understand. Is it the tool of its majority shareholder, the government? Or are its decisions rational and market led? Chloe Hayward investigates.

Afghanistan has a fast, efficient, customer-friendly banking system in its network of money traders. They operate where western-style bankers fear to tread – indeed those bankers rely in part on the traders to complete transactions. But the government would like the banks to supersede this old, established system.

Sheikh Salem AbdulAziz Al-Sabah, governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, talks to Euromoney about the measures taken to ensure the stability of the banking system and economy in the face of the global financial crisis and slowdown.

Turquoise Partners’ insights into the Iranian stock market have yielded impressive returns for its two funds. Sudip Roy reports.

Far from being caught up in the financial crisis of the past 18 months, Lebanon’s banking system and credit markets have emerged from the crisis stronger than before. Euromoney asked Riad Salameh, the central bank governor about his country’s apparent immunity to the credit crunch.

Martin Redrado has laboured hard since 2004 to restore and sustain the country’s financial stability in the face of global meltdown and difficult government policies. The central bank governor speaks to Jason Mitchell in Buenos Aires about the challenges he faces and his ambitions for the economy.

Banco de Crédito del Peru’s fortunes wax and wane with those of the Andean nation’s economy. Sudip Roy talks to chief executive Walter Bayly about the bank’s prospects.

Corporate losses on currency derivatives have increased the pressure on banks, as well as calls for improved transparency, the enforcement of margin-call documentation, regular marking to market, exchange trading of products and the use of clearing houses. Chloe Hayward reports.

Defaults by the Ahab and Saad groups and their respective Bahrain-based banks TIBC and Awal might or might not be directly related. Ahab claims Saad is involved in its own downfall, a charge denied by Saad. Whatever the truth, the crises have weakened confidence in creditworthiness. Dominic O’Neill reports.

Opaque and fragmented, China’s financial sector is growing fast, and the world’s top investment banks urgently want to break into its highly protected market. Making the most of opportunities requires adapting to local practices, balancing a complex web of interests and getting a head start. Lawrence White reports.

With the international economy more volatile than ever, global investors are paying more attention to country risk analysis. Risk looms both where you most and least expect it. In Euromoney’s latest rankings, the US has fallen out of the top 10. Jacqueline Cutler reports.

Huge supply, uncertainty over the inflation outlook and the effects of exceptional monetary policy, the prospect of a dramatic rise in yields, or a buyers’ strike: all these are stalking government bonds. Alex Chambers finds out whether the bond market will blow stuttering economic activity off track.

Singapore’s free-wheeling private bankers enjoyed the ride of their lives in the pre-crisis years, but with government intervention and a clutch of lawsuits looming, it looks as though many are finally running out of road. Eric Ellis reports.

For most of 2009, Malaysian dealmakers had little to talk about. But when a landmark bond issue for Petronas, the country’s biggest corporate name, came to market in August, it more than made up for lost time. Lawrence White reports from Kuala Lumpur.

Nicholas Moore, Macquarie’s chief executive, says difficulties with listed infrastructure funds should not be blown out of proportion. Despite their high public profile, its infrastructure activities are a small proportion of its business. But he’s finding it hard to shake off the notion that the ‘Macquarie model’ is broken. Chris Wright reports.

Bank business models have to change. Capital requirements will be higher. Leverage and risk will be lower. But there is a danger that regulators will try to make the system too safe. That’s if they ever manage to coordinate their actions. In the meantime, bank leaders are trying to find the best model for their own institutions, while managing the fallout from the credit crunch and second-guessing the lawmakers. Peter Lee reports.