After the challenges of Asian and global financial crises and the 1MDB scandal, Zeti Akhtar Aziz is back in the top echelons of Malaysian influence again. She tells Euromoney about her achievements as central bank governor – and what she knew and did about 1MDB.

Despite being a global leader in IT and semiconductors, Taiwan has long been a digital laggard. The regulator has just issued the island’s first digital banking licences, but is it a simple case of ‘too late’ rather than ‘better late than never’?

The bid by HKEX for the London Stock Exchange is bold and has scale on its side, but faces regulatory barriers – and the fact the LSE has a different idea of what an exchange should look like.

It’s not long ago that Kurdistan was on the brink of accessing the international markets. Then came ISIS, strained relations with Iraq and the challenge of being shackled to a state from which the population wants independence. Is Kurdistan ready to approach world markets again?

It is 11 years since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, and even now, only about half of the UN recognizes it as a free-standing sovereign state. That lack of international validation – not least the absence of a credit rating – is holding back a strong economy.

A properly functioning financial system has long eluded the country. As it moves on from Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s 20-year leadership, can the financial system finally overcome its many problems?

Countries fall off the global financial grid for a host of reasons: political obtuseness, lack of sovereign recognition, the departure of correspondent banking relationships, even Ebola. But we make a mistake if we think of these places as distant and uninteresting curios

The country’s poverty is in marked contrast to the relative affluence of its neighbours. It needs access to finance beyond disaster relief. But can banks make a business case for a nation in such poor repair?

For many international investors, Liberia isn’t relevant. It offers little in terms of natural resource, while global banks find doing business there too risky and its young and poor population offers little commercial opportunity. Can China help turn this around?

In the landlocked nation, credit is in short supply and few have bank accounts. Foreign lenders, development banks, microfinance institutions and fintechs want to solve its woes – it’s just not clear that Laos wants them back.

Singapore has everything a market hub needs, but has not built on its regulatory environment.

Banorte CEO says market will be 'surprised' by what comes next for the bank; fintech growth unlikely to impact bank growth in the short-term.

A move from Jakarta to the island of Borneo might not be all that it seems.

Introduction of the GST and demonetization mean Jaitley had a far bigger impact on Indian finance than his single term as minister would suggest.

Argentina is about to default; again. It will be the ninth time in the past 200 years, and the Latin American sovereign is about to test its ability to survive beyond the ascribed mortality of cats.

Danske Bank’s compliance head Philippe Vollot is on a hiring spree, but parts of its international network might still be too risky.

When Mauricio Macri won the last presidential election in 2015, the future for Argentina’s banks looked rosy: a spate of international debt and equity deals confirmed the optimism. No one who participated in those deals – including Galicia’s CEO Fabián Kon – thought the country would soon be back to square one.

The gradual erosion of institutional credibility could prove more damaging to Turkey than economic and political shocks.

Israel has become one of the world’s most important fintech hubs, attracting millions in investment from some of the biggest global brands and venture capital funds. Can its start-up culture now evolve to grow large fintech businesses at home?

Bradesco’s digital bank start-up has grown rapidly and is already looking to leave the bank’s existing corporate structure.

The lifers are being cleared out at a bank traditionally known for the long service of its senior management.

Success for pensions reform in the Congress – the long-held litmus test of Brazilian recovery – has buoyed asset prices and led to a flurry of activity.

The rapid fall in interest rates in Brazil, from a peak of 14.25% in 2016 to 6.5% in February 2018, created expectations among analysts that the biggest banks’ famously high net interest margin was finally about to be eroded.

The bank has retrenched, rebranded and grown since 2015.

Banks in emerging Europe are riding high on the back of rampant retail credit growth – but how long can the party last?

A higher score, and tier, in the Euromoney Belt and Road Index shines the spotlight on Russia’s participation this quarter.

UOB is run by three generations of the Wee family, with a fourth in the wings. It is conservative, cautious and stable. But a bold new digital strategy seeks five million customers across the region. Is it coincidence that change is coming just as the bank’s elder statesman retires at 90?

The insolvency and bankruptcy code is supposed to do wonderful things for India, but a leftfield decision on creditors this week will have a number of unhelpful side-effects.

Citi

Anshula Kant’s background at SBI means that she is uniquely prepared for her new job.