Singapore will soon be second to Switzerland in offshore private banking, having overtaken its main Asian rival, Hong Kong. And it is attracting money from wealthy Europeans as well as from Asians.

With foreign players set to start investment banking operations in Saudi Arabia, local banks are confident that they can meet the challenge.

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Philippe Maystadt, president and chairman of the board of directors of the European Investment Bank, speaks to Euromoney's Mark Brown about the bank's lending policies, criticisms from the European Parliament and the bank's response to EU enlargement.

The latest new name in European banking, Calyon, becomes fully operational this month. It?s the product of the 2003 merger of Crédit Agricole Indosuez and Crédit Lyonnais, bringing together their investment banking and capital markets businesses. The rebranding and relaunch are being kept relatively low profile, mainly because the new name is already well known among clients. Indeed it is backdated, having been used to refer to the bank since January.

The accession of 10 new states to the EU on May 1 provided an opportunity to reflect on the success of the European project. For a continent riven by centuries of war and rivalry to build peace and prosperity is a momentous achievement.

Greece?s newly elected conservative government has managed to convince most market participants that it is serious about making good on its promises for faster economic growth. It will, however, have to work hard and deliver fast to avoid disappointing these high expectations in its race against time to prepare the country for the Olympic Games.

Have French efforts to create a national champion in the pharmaceuticals industry left its companies more vulnerable to hostile takeovers?

When the European Parliament approved the Investment Services Directive, including the controversial Article 27, hearts sank across the City of London.

By Camilla Palladino

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ECM bankers at an investment bank near Liverpool Street in London have added a new twist to an old English pub game.

The noose tightened around oil company Yukos?s neck last month and bankruptcy loomed large only weeks before the trial of its former CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky was due to start.

May has arrived, which means it?s time for City gents to swap their bowler hats for boaters, and head to the English countryside for summer sporting events. Or was that just the way it was before Big Bang?

The EIB vehemently disputes the criticism that its risk management isn't up to scratch – a criticism contained in Emac's draft report but removed from the final version. At the end of last year, it put all its risk management functions in its risk management directorate, headed by Pierluigi Gilibert.

A high-spending chancellor and a continuing consumer boom might not be in the long-term interests of the UK. They are, though, fundamental to foreign investment that is pushing up sterling.

The continued strength of the oil price means that Saudi Arabia is set for another successful economic performance this year and unless there is a change in this market, should deliver a second successive year with a budget surplus.

While the European Investment Bank wants partnerships with commercial banks to reach SMEs, commercial banks and borrowers can in turn pitch deals to the EIB so long as they are technically and economically viable and support EU policy objectives. The role governments might play in seeking EIB support is not entirely clear. Nor is the extent to which they might seek to palm off onto the EIB the burden of funding quasi-public works.

Small private banks wanting to offer their clients investments in soft commodities are increasingly using hedge funds as a point of entry. Interest in commodities has risen as high-net-worth investors seek diversification, but small private banks lack choice when offering third-party products.

Corporate issuance is down in Europe but supply is being bolstered by dollar issues from European corporates. So is this a good year for the debt markets? Bankers are not sure.

Asian research brokerage CLSA has not found it easy to move into new markets. But after costly forays into non-Asian countries it has started to expand again. Its decision to open in Tokyo was impeccably timed and well executed.

The new member states of the European Union offer foreign fund managers a fast growing asset pool. However, the market has already been targeted by such firms as Allianz Dresdner. Is it too late for others to make an impression? The chance to shine may come when investors look outside their home markets.

For the first time in a generation, Saudi Arabia has posted two budget surpluses in a row. Sustained oil prices underlie this, though, and economic reform needs to be kept at the top of the kingdom's agenda.

Bankers are eager for the implementation of Saudi Arabia's capital markets law. But this won't happen until the regulator's chairman is appointed

Political rhetoric in the US about the loss of service-sector jobs to India has not deterred American companies from consolidating their offshore outsourcing business in the country.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development decided to restrict its already minimal lending to Uzbekistan in April, after the bank decided that the country had failed to meet economic and humanitarian benchmarks it set one year ago.

Credit provision is once again becoming a dangerous game. Tight bond spreads on high-grade, high-yield or emerging-markets paper are one obvious warning sign that investors? desperate chase for yield has overcome any sensible discrimination about underlying credit risk. But the clearest indication that institutions have failed to learn from the last recession and credit crunch is in the syndicated loan market.

GlaxoSmithKline used careful timing to make the most of the dearth of jumbo dollar corporate issues so far this year.

The completion of several high-profile corporate restructurings in Japan has convinced many investors that at long last the country is shaping up to come out of recession. Domestic value investors are driving change. Others fear that it's too little too late and that time is not on Japan's side. By 2007 public debt could be three.

It's a wonder that the Philippines is still afloat. Rafael Buenaventura, central bank governor, has steered it clear of disaster. But with a presidential election this month, an unimpressive line-up of legislators and the governor's term coming to a close, the republic faces an uncertain passage.