The playing field in private banking has levelled out and the US banks committed to a global business now compete on even terms with the Swiss. From here on it will be technology and superior asset allocation advice that determine the winners.

Meet the new stars of private banking: the global chief investment officers. Wealth managers know they have to provide more to clients than a safe place to deposit money and a close relationship with families and individuals. They are moving to an asset-management-based approach, and CIOs are key to the strategy. But can a house view really increase profits and win over clients?

Singapore matters. The city-state continues to blaze a trail for the region by shifting its growth model in favour of productivity, securing its presence at the top level of international financial diplomacy. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s finance minister – and Euromoney’s Finance Minister of the Year 2013 – outlines his reform agenda and issues a sharp warning on reform inertia in the region, China’s growth model and destabilizing capital flows.

It’s an article of faith in investment banking that Asia is the future. It is where the growth economies are, the dynamic young populations, and the most vibrant trends in trade and market development. But global bank HQs need to temper their expectations.

With public spending being cut, wealthy individuals are putting more of their philanthropic dollars to work through social-impact investing. Companies are being set up to provide advice and products, and the private banks need to get on board.

The financial crisis proved almost as tough for wealth managers as it did for investment bankers. They have worked hard to redeem reputations and improve services. The heads of the world’s eight leading private banks tell Helen Avery how they are giving clients the returns they expect.

When one bank pitched a fee of one one-millionth of a percent to be a bookrunner on the landmark Coal India IPO, every other lead manager had to accept the same level. Even officials at the issuer weren’t happy with the economics of the deal. But such is the way of Indian equity capital markets, as Chris Wright reports.

Eleven banks gathered in Agricultural Bank of China’s offices in early April to plan in an atmosphere of mutual suspicion how to complete an extremely difficult task. The challenge: to sell to investors what was thought of as China’s weakest big bank, to a timetable calling for unprecedented swiftness, against a backdrop of worsening global market conditions. Lawrence White reports from Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai on the story of the world’s biggest-ever IPO.

Deciding a cut-off point for Asia’s top investment banking franchises was not easy; several of the firms outside our top 12 might feel that their businesses are very nearly equivalent to those who scraped in to the lower rankings.

The recent announcement of net new inflows of Sfr44.2 billion, on top of group net income of Sfr6.7 billion for 2009, shows that a strategy of integration is paying rich dividends for Credit Suisse, sending wealth management business storming past arch rivals UBS to take the top spot in Euromoney's private banking rankings. Can the bank retain its momentum?

Beloved by the international markets for her professionalism and by most compatriots for her reformist zeal, Mulyani Indrawati is battling with those who prefer things done the old way. Lawrence White spoke to her at the G20 summit.

The acquisition of the European and Asian arms of Lehman Brothers means that the Japanese firm is now the world’s largest independent investment bank. The deal shocked many who had expected a western buy-out. Lawrence White speaks to Takumi Shibata and Sadeq Sayeed, the architects of the deal.

As their peers in Europe and the US struggle to adjust to the world post sub-prime, Japan’s megabanks find themselves in the glow of unaccustomed financial health. But how do they put their new-found advantage to best use? And can they ignore the demons that caused such huge mistakes in the past?

Private banks attached to investment banks have benefited from the access to balance sheet and innovative products that the relationship provides. But with Wall Street suffering dramatic losses as a result of sub-prime mortgage exposure, will that relationship be the private banks’ downfall? Helen Avery reports.

State-owned, cash-rich and increasingly influential, sovereign wealth funds have emerged as the most controversial players in the financial markets. All the constituents – banks, private equity, corporates, hedge funds – want a slice of their action. Just how powerful will the funds become? Sudip Roy reports.

Al Gore, the former vice-president of the US, is the most high-profile figure in the fight to force action to combat global warming. He explains why a new approach to investment is needed, adopts an unusual position in the carbon tax versus cap-and-trade debate, and says banks are generally ahead of the game – but still have a lot more to do.

Global warming is the biggest issue facing society. Markets can play a crucial role in combating climate change. Banks see a huge opportunity to be agents for good – and make plenty of money in the process. How big can green finance become? Clive Horwood investigates.

Distressed debt used to be a secondary-market play. Today, it’s a primary-market business. Distressed or stressed companies don’t avoid default by restructuring old debts. They put on new ones supplied by myriad new forced buyers of credit. The product’s already distressed when it goes on the shelf.

When Stan O’Neal took over as president and CEO of Merrill Lynch in 2001, the thundering herd of the 1990s was clapped out. O’Neal imposed a ruthless cost-cutting strategy that saved the firm’s independence. Now his rebuilding plans are starting to bear fruit. Can Merrill heed the lessons of the past, but at the same time make it back to the pinnacle of investment banking? Clive Horwood reports.

What lessons did Stan O’Neal learn from the restructuring of Merrill Lynch at the turn of the decade? What are Merrill’s plans in mortgages, private equity and asset management? And what continues to drive Merrill’s CEO forward? O’Neal reveals all to Clive Horwood in his first in-depth interview since becoming the firm’s chairman and CEO.

Private banks are enjoying a period of growth as financial markets improve and global wealth increases. Long-term success will lie in offering a broader range of products linked to investment banking, while ensuring the high levels of service that clients now demand. Euromoney reports on the drivers of success in its annual survey.

There is no room for nostalgia in the new-look Merrill Lynch. Charles Merrill might have wanted to bring Wall Street to the masses but it is the affluent who command the most attention from his successors. Since 2000, James Gorman has shaken up the private-client business with dramatic results.

In the bull market it seemed that investment performance would determine the winners and losers in the fast-growing and newly transparent private wealth management industry. But what the wealthy most need is independent advice and a sense of who is good at what. Euromoney surveys the best providers. Peter Lee reports.

Private banking 2004: The reinvention of private banking

Contraversy has dogged Mahathir Mohamad's 22 years' dedication to making Malaysia a healthy modern economy. Now on the brink of retirement the prime minister spoke to Chris Cockerill about his country's achievements and his refusal to bow to the prescriptions of the developed world.

The president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, speaks to Euromoney's Asia editor Chris Cockerill about the state of the economy, the battle against corruption and the future of the country after her term of office finishes.

Those foreign investors prepared to pick their way through the rubbish on offer from China in the form of distressed loans may be able to uncover a few fantastic investment opportunities. They've done it before in other markets, but China offers its own unique challenges in seizing assets. It's certainly not for the faint-hearted. But those prepared to buy NPLs may benefit in other ways from the gratitude of the Chinese authorities.

Europe’s newly emerging mass affluent are the latest target – and the latest obsession – for financial services operators. However many players have yet to unveil either a clear strategy or the right products. Indeed some big names have already decided to cut their considerable losses and leave the market behind, convinced they won’t be able to make it pay. But whoever comes up with the winning formula is likely to enjoy a bonanza.

It must be perpetual but it doesn't have to be for ever. It has to feel like equity but look - to tax authorities - like debt. Defining banks' core capital is one of the thorniest issues facing bank regulators. Antony Currie reports on the squabbles over what fits in the tier-one category.

Was it the summit meeting that saved world financial markets from Armageddon? Or was it the night on which Wall Street's crony capitalists, backed by the taxpayer, looked after their own - John Meriwether at Long-Term Capital Management? Whatever the interpretation, fear was in the air, and there wasn't much time to philosophize. David Shirreff reports on five days that shook the world. That's followed by a study of over-leverage, by Michelle Celarier, and another sad tale at UBS, by David Shirreff.