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It was a disastrous year for Belgian banks. But amid the dismemberment and bailouts ING Belgium stood out. It earned a substantial pre-tax profit of €1.1 billion, €905 million after tax, which was achieved despite the difficult economic environment. Its deposit base remained stable, while its loan book rose by 9%.

Ask a senior executive at Credit Suisse to provide you with some colour, and more likely than not they will quickly segue into a new realm of detail.

GOLDMAN SACHS: The short-term debt business has continued to operate, with innovation and stability the keywords for Goldman

PAULSON & CO: Paulson’s success is no flash in the pan but based on a rigorously researched devotion to merger arbitrage, distressed and other event-driven strategies

CREDIT SUISSE: Tough decisions taken in 2007 and 2008 leave Credit Suisse’s investment bank in a prime position for the years ahead

In its core market of Finland, Nordea has a roughly 30% market share of consumer lending and personal deposits and of mortgage lending. It has even higher shares of corporate business, with 36% of lending and 43% of corporate deposits. In Finland, Nordea is truly a giant among banks. However, Finland itself accounts for just 15% of the Nordea Group’s loans and 16% of profits.

JPMORGAN: The number one slot in the league table is filled by having more than lending muscle

It was not a vintage year for HSBC in its home market. Profits before tax fell by 28% to HK$38.6 billion ($5 billion), the bank’s $17.5 billion rights offering came later than it should have in the eyes of some analysts, and local media reacted with dismay when it slashed the interest rate on Hong Kong dollar savings by 90% to 0.001% – prompting one commentator to note that one would have to deposit HK$2 million at HSBC for a year to earn enough interest to buy a small cup of coffee. Despite its setbacks, however, HSBC is still the dominant bank in Hong Kong and none of its peers did well enough to dislodge it from that spot. The bank’s personal financial services department serves 90% of Hong Kong’s population, its treasury and risk management operations dominate the local market, and it is the top provider of capital-raising services for Hong Kong’s companies. One statistic will suffice to demonstrate the dominance of HSBC’s debt team in their local market: in the period from April 1 2008 to March 31 2009, HSBC was bookrunner on bonds issued by Hong Kong companies worth a total of $2.6 billion, more than the total volume of the next five bookrunners combined.

Of the few global banks to have survived without state assistance, HSBC is the best positioned in the most attractive emerging economies. Its global banking and markets business is thriving. Its rights issue confirmed it as a better credit than many governments, and deposits have flooded in. Regulators will force other banks to copy it. Best of all, it has admitted its mistakes. Peter Lee reports.

Lazard: The US firm brings years of experience and enviably skilled professionals to increasingly complex restructurings

HSBC: The bank has rapidly built momentum in its global franchise as debt capital markets boom

Brady Dougan and Paul Calello stripped down Credit Suisse’s investment banking vehicle as the credit crisis hit. Now they’re showing off a streamlined, non-polluting, yet powerful firm that even their competitors admire. Is Credit Suisse the model of a new investment bank? Clive Horwood reports.