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Ceiba Investments, a closed-end fund that invests solely in Cuban assets, is set to list its shares on London junior market AIM this month.

Texas Pacific Group Adjusting risk management to fit the changing market, TPG’s expertise shines through tough times for private equity.

Korea’s banks face a difficult couple of years: the market has become extremely competitive, and analysts agree that raising profitability will be tough. As in Japan, the answer for the top banks might lie in expanding elsewhere in Asia, where there is still plenty of room for growth. Shinhan Bank, which retains the award for best bank in Korea that it won last year, has already begun that process by opening Shinhan Khmer Bank in Cambodia, as well as a branch in Beijing and a fourth in Dong Nai in Vietnam.

The funding crisis that has affected many other global banks since the summer of 2007 started early in Iceland, and has been especially severe for banks there. Domestically, the banks face a slowing economy and rocketing inflation. Externally, investors continue to fret about Icelandic banks’ business model and rapid growth. The largest of Iceland’s three commercial banks, Kaupthing Bank, is best placed to meet the challenges faced by the sector.

This award is always one of the most tightly contested and this year is no exception. What stands out over the past 12 months is how well Lebanon’s leading banks have fared given the difficult political situation there. But then, unfortunately, they have plenty of experience of operating in such an unpropitious environment.

After winning this award in 2006 and 2007, Bank of Georgia continues to affirm its position as Georgia’s leading financial institution with yet another year of stellar performance. Deposits grew 142.2% to $851.6 million, and outstanding mortgages rose 103.5% to 4,230, an increase in the value of those mortgages of 187.2%, to nearly $150 million. In the retail division, revenue per employee rose by a half.

In most countries in Asia the larger local banks tend to dominate Euromoney’s best bank awards but it has been some years since that happened in Japan. Choosing a best bank in Japan has been a tricky business for some time. The three megabanks have had well-documented problems with weak balance sheets, unadventurous managers and poorly diversified strategies for the past decade. This year, two things have changed: the megabanks are in strong positions relative to their global peer group for once, and some of the smaller, more dynamic players, such as Shinsei, have been struggling.

HSBC

In February, Westpac gained a new chief executive, the much-admired Gail Kelly, who had transformed St George Bank from a second-tier bank to a powerful and genuine alternative to Australia’s big four. She wasted little time in embarking on a transformational strategy, confirming in May that her new bank was in talks with her old one to merge and create Australia’s biggest financial services group.

According to a survey by Tabb Group, one in four US hedge funds is planning to open a new office outside the US in the next two years. At least 400 offices will open in the next 12 months and, depending on market conditions, a further 400 in the next two years, says the report. The majority of funds opening abroad are multi-strategy. These need to move to markets in which investment opportunities arise.

Barclays can normally expect to feature more than once in our African banking awards. So it is unusual that this year its only award is in Zambia. It is a place that the bank knows well, having been there for nearly 100 years. There are many new banks operating in Africa, but none so far in Zambia that impresses as much as Barclays. It continues to expand its branches and operations, with more than 70 offices and 1,200 staff. The liberalization of Zambia’s trade and exchange rate has increased opportunities – but also competition.

Goldman Sachs