Ever since the launch of Vision 2030, housing has been a key priority for Saudi Arabia. Along with the home building has come a vibrant mortgage market, the formation of a secondary liquidity provider and the building blocks that will lead to a new securitized asset class in global markets.

Outwardly different, Singapore and Dubai have transformed themselves into international wealth management hubs, overseen by clear-minded regulators. They are now starting to compete for business with Europe’s far older private wealth centres.

Whether doing a branch network tour or complying with regulation, Bank of Saint Helena boss Josephine George has a job that is like few other bankers’ anywhere.

Banque du Caire was on the cusp of completing a $500 million listing in London and Cairo last year when Covid hit. Its chairman Tarek Fayed meets Euromoney to talk about investing in people and digital – and why he still wants to complete a slimmed-down stock sale when conditions allow.

Emerging markets have regained some of the buoyancy lost during the early months of the coronavirus crisis, but analyst opinions hint at the difficulty of identifying which EM currencies investors should favour.

As Lebanon’s dollar reserves disappear, time is running out. Central bank governor Riad Salamé’s tweaks to the banking sector will have little effect and commercial bankers’ attempts to resurrect dollar inflows sound deluded. Is recovery possible without a change in financial leadership?

Fears over greenwashing claims have often dissuaded issuers from the Middle East from entering the sustainable bond markets. That could be set to change.

Donald Trump reversed a deal that would have brought Iran back into the international fold. Now Joe Biden intends to reverse Trump’s reversal. Does that mean good times ahead for Iran’s banks?

If you want to see what a strong economic and financial recovery might look like in 2021, you’ll find it in Dubai.

The pacts will normalise relations between Israel and the UAE, but it aims to do much more. The potential for regional détente and investment across real estate, energy and technology is great.

FAB’s status as a national champion means it is even better positioned after Covid-19 to facilitate regional growth.

There are interesting titbits on Africa, private debt and renewable energy at the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.

The rand is back to pre-pandemic levels despite little confidence in the South African government’s ability to revitalize its economy.

The Public Investment Fund is unrecognizable from the sleepy vehicle it was until 2015. More risk has led to some bad investments, but the crown prince says overall returns are good. Can they stay that way?

The BRICS economies, which between them represent 40% of the world population and 32% of its GDP, are a powerful force for the private banking industry as their economic engines drive wealth creation. But they are all distinct markets with their own unique opportunities and challenges.

As Gulf banks grapple with squeezed margins, low interest rates and over-banking, Egypt offers the opposite: high interest rates, low lending penetration and a largely unbanked population. It is no surprise that domestic and regional buyers are now circling.

The Egyptian bank is to launch a digital bank as Covid-19 accelerates the government’s push for a cashless society.

Bankers see huge opportunities on both sides as Israel signs historic agreement with UAE and Bahrain.

Citi’s scale across the emerging markets is unrivalled, and its investment bankers have been successful in playing to that strength throughout the last year.

Faced with an estimated $100 billion budget deficit but committed to a vast expenditure programme, Saudi finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan explains how he plans to balance the books.

Africa’s most ambitious homegrown regional bank has a problem, and it is called Nigeria. If it doesn’t solve it, the Nigerian business will hamper Ecobank’s goal of banking 100 million people across the rest of the continent.

Euromoney asked its panellists to rescore Lebanon’s risks in the aftermath of the port tragedy on August 4, with investors left pondering what’s next for a country now desperately in need of aid and finance for reconstruction.

The government’s resignation this week could pave the way for reform – and unlock essential IMF funding – but is the will to change there?

Analysts can see through the economic and fiscal shock to observe a country with its underlying strengths intact.

As Iran’s currency crisis deepens, observers fear that far from improving the situation, state intervention will do further damage to a country that was in economic turmoil even before coronavirus.

Coronavirus could provide the ‘ultimate accelerator’ for privatizations and foreign involvement.

The coronavirus pandemic is intensifying the case for domestic bank M&A in Africa, but cross-border deals will be challenging to execute.

Unquantifiable risk as a result of Covid-19 made the complex deal unworkable.

Saudi Arabia’s Al-Rajhi is named the region's best bank in this year’s Euromoney Awards for Excellence.

Equity Bank takes the region's best bank accolade in this year's Euromoney Awards for Excellence.