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Nova Ljubljanska Banka remains streets ahead of the competition, with the bank maintaining its number one position thanks to a 30%-plus market share in terms of total banking assets, loans and deposits in Slovenia.

Azerbaijan is one of the more productive of the smaller central Asian countries, with a population of 8.4 million and a GDP of $31 billion. Comfortably leading the country’s banking industry is International Bank of Azerbaijan, with about half of the country’s banking assets and loans. This year, following a $15 million loan for Bank Respublica and a $30 million loan for Unibank, IBA came to market in May for its own loan, to the amount of $173.5 million, the largest in the country’s history and a graphic reminder of the levels IBA operates at compared with its domestic peers. The deal was originally planned for $80 million but was increased on the back of strong investor interest.

Hansabank – which is set for a name change to Swedbank in the autumn – dominates every sector of the retail and corporate banking market in Estonia and continues to grow rapidly. Total income in the 2007 financial year rose 39% and net profit hit €227 million – an increase of 28% on the previous year.

Highly populated Rwanda is an attractive environment for banks, particularly as the ethnic problems are beginning to recede. Banque Commerciale de Rwanda is the most innovative bank in the country, expanding its network and growing its products. "This has been a good year," says David Kuwana, managing director of Banque Commerciale de Rwanda. "We have opened two new branches, developed a mortgage product, and have grown our Western Union network."

NYSE plans rule changes to improve the competitiveness of its trading floor.

Banco BIC was described by one banker as "Angola’s Equity Bank" (see Kenya’s best bank). In today’s African banking climate, this comparison with the Kenyan bank is praise indeed. In 2007, Banco BIC consolidated its operation in the Angolan market, increasing its commercial network to cover all the country, while maintaining a strong focus on the service quality.

DnB Nord Banka maintained its strong record in Latvia in 2007 – growing at almost twice the market average – with assets up by 37% over the year and the bank’s deposits increasing by 11%. The bank’s profitability has been remarkable: profit increased by 95% last year and shareholders have enjoyed a compound five-year growth rate in total equity of 44.16%.

International investors clearly still have faith in the growth prospects for banks in Kazakhstan, despite the fact that the global credit crunch has hit the country harder than arguably anywhere else in emerging Europe. In late June, Alnair Capital, a private equity group backed by capital from Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nayhan, announced its intention to take a 25% stake in Kazkommertsbank, the country’s second-biggest bank by assets.

Nuevo Banco Comercial (NBC) is the largest commercial bank in Uruguay, with $1.4 billion in assets. The bank serves more than 200,000 retail and corporate customers and leads the credit card market.

London-listed asset management group Polar Capital is looking to launch a fund later this year to take advantage of the attractive investment opportunities it believes exists in Ukraine. Earlier this year, Polar relocated its head office for emerging Europe to Kiev from Moscow, citing the growing attractiveness of the Ukrainian economy.

To hold the number one position in terms of total loans to the private sector, deposits, mutual funds, mortgage loans, credit card loans and net fee income in a market shows that the bank in question is clearly doing something right. Banco Santander Río, the biggest banking franchise in Argentina, not only holds the top spot in several market segments, it can also boast a 40% increase in profits this year. New clients and managed margins increased profits to $290 million. In terms of organic growth, Santander Río has grown impressively compared with its competitors, with middle-market clients increasing 116.3% in three years.