Spandex-clad, mullet-haired cult band The Darkness has made it – and we're not talking about the million album sales, or sell-out worldwide tours. Rather, the members of Lowestoft's flamboyant quartet, born out of a Queen-inspired karaoke night in a Norfolk pub, have just become customers of prestigious private bank Coutts.

In just over 12 years Kazakhstan has recast itself from a basket case economy into net creditor to the world thanks to its vast oil reserves. But there are worries that the boom is not being used effectively for the benefit of the citizens and that foreign investors might be interested only in exploiting the country's petroleum reserves. Chris Pala reports.

Asia's high-net-worth individuals are getting richer quicker than those anywhere else. Wealth management has never been so competitive in the region but is a potential goldmine for the smartest bankers. Chris Leahy reports.

The brainchild of Santander's chairman, Emilio Botín, Santander Group City is set to become Europe's largest corporate headquarters. But not everyone at the bank is happy to embrace a US-style working culture. Jules Stewart reports.

Deal: Center Parcs flotation

Nobody doubts that European debt restructuring has been transformed in the last three years. Consensual restructurings have started to replace formal, court-based insolvency proceedings. And US bondholders, with their more aggressive style, have shaken up the traditional, bank-led European approach.

In 17 years the Carlyle Group has become one of the world's biggest private-equity firms, with an impressive track record. Managing director David Rubenstein talks about its deals, its image, succession plans and going public. Joanna Hickey reports.

Iraq's banks look set to bounce back this year, shrugging off the crippling impact of nationalization, a decade of sanctions and a US-led invasion. Economic reforms introduced by the Coalition Provisional Authority and the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council have opened the way for the entry of foreign banks and the consolidation of the local private banking sector.

In the summer and autumn of 1993, fewer than a dozen officials worked feverishly in complete secrecy to save Kazakhstan from raging post-Soviet inflation and introduce its first-ever national currency.

Senior credit analyst, Cheyne Capital

Founding partner, Woodstone Capital Partners

As the lead singer of Radiohead, Thom Yorke is one of the world's biggest rock stars and he's known for having quite a temper.

The very richest clients of private banks are natural candidates for the services of investment banks. Hence the big banks' efforts to foster links across their own activities. Welcome to the world of the double-sided business card. Mark Brown reports.