Sovereign has shown it retains access to the capital markets despite political and economic woes.

Banco Central de Chile president Vittorio Corbo is arguably Latin America’s most respected central banker. He tells Euromoney how he is keeping a lid on the region’s biggest economic danger – inflation. Sudip Roy reports from Santiago.

Two unconnected events in the Byzantine world of Japanese banking indicate some progress, albeit slow, in the reform of this troubled sector.

Hurricanes don’t just destroy cities: they can also destroy sovereign finances. Hurricane Ivan, for instance, wiped out so much of Grenada’s infrastructure in September 2004 that by the end of the year the country was in default on its debt. Things were not helped when Hurricane Emily struck Grenada in July.

One of southeast Asia’s top finance officials says that the region must continue to harmonize if it is to stave off the threat of growing competition from China and other north Asian economies.

Sales of non-performing loan and real estate portfolios to foreign investors have stirred controversy in Germany, with the buyers being described by a senior politician as “a plague of locusts”. But the medium-term benefits could go beyond a much-needed injection of liquidity and balance sheet repair and provide a fresh impetus to the German economy.

Fresh from big spending on China’s state lenders, global banks are lining up to buy into its securities industry.

Saudi and Qatari banks launch new investment products. National Commercial Bank has become only the second Saudi Arabian financial services provider to launch a Shariah-compliant mutual fund that will invest in the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

State-owned Vneshtorgbank is set to continue its rapid expansion via a share swap to acquire several foreign banks owned by the Russian central bank, including London-based Moscow Narodny Bank and Paris-based Eurobank.

Was there an ulterior motive for CMC Group’s decision to drop the deal4free brand?

Taiwan recognized the failings in its existing pension systems early. A new scheme was launched in July. It is already accumulating funds rapidly and the effects on Taiwan’s domestic capital markets are likely to be dramatic. There will also be numerous opportunities for global asset managers. Chris Leahy reports.

The first of China’s four largest state-owned banks, China Construction Bank, hit the road in October for its well-trailed IPO. Despite a $8 billion offering, the largest IPO globally this year, CCB eschewed a New York listing, spooked by the Sarbanes-Oxley straitjacket, opting for Hong Kong alone.

Do hedge funds need strategic advice from investment bankers? And do banks need to set up new departments to offer it? Yes, reckon UBS and CSFB; no, say many of their competitors. Antony Currie reports on whether treating hedge funds like other corporate or private-equity clients is the latest development in the industry or just a fancy bit of spin.