The biggest money-laundering investigation ever carried out by the US authorities cast its net wide. Operation Casablanca uncovered trails in Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela and indicted some highly respectable banks. Some have now launched internal investigations into what went wrong. But how much are banks to blame when money laundering goes on under their roofs? Michelle Celarier reports.

A year ago Deutsche Morgan Grenfell was set to challenge the US global investment banks. Then Frankfurt jammed on the brakes. A bank-wide restructuring has left DMG - now just the global corporate and institutions (GCI) department of Deutsche Bank - a pale shadow of its former self. Did the Deutsche Bank board lose its nerve or does it truly believe it can have an investment-banking culture without the investment bankers who inspired it?

The financial markets have never stood still. But rarely have they moved as quickly as they do today. The winners of all our awards by product sector are facing the same forces. Globalization is driving the market and firms are responding by consolidating. Take a careful look at the winners. They are sure to be very different next year.