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As one door closes, another opens. Odey Asset Management closed its $40 million Japan hedge fund in June after it fell more than $1 billion in 18 months. The same month, though, the manager announced that it would be creating a fund of hedge funds subsidiary in order to play out some of its investment theme convictions.

In March 2008, Bank of Bahamas International became the first retail bank from the Bahamas to have a physical presence in Miami. The new office hopes to expedite trade and help Bahamians who shop and seek medical care and education in the US state.

The contest for the best bank in France title this year was no less predictable than the French Open final, which went yet again to Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

Deutsche Bank

Banco General continues to lead the residential mortgage market, with a 31.5% market share in December 2007, and has now developed a foothold in the corporate and retail segments. The bank has also diversified into other financial services including private banking and corporate finance. In 2007, the bank acted as lead arranger on five debt deals, including four bond transactions.

Based on Bank Pekao’s 2007 results, parent UniCredit has succeeded in turning it into the leading bank in Poland by total assets, client savings and equity. It was also the second-biggest lender. Despite the distraction of a merger with part of Bank BPH, Bank Pekao reported strong financial figures for 2007, proving it is both big and clever. Net income rose by 20.9% compared with 2006, while return on equity was a creditable 23.7%. The bank also cut its cost-income ratio to 47.1%. Despite market pressure on the mutual funds industry in the fourth quarter of 2007, Bank Pekao still managed to boost its net fee and commission income by 12.7% year on year.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has given Credit Suisse the go-ahead to launch a joint venture with local firm Founder Securities. The Swiss bank takes a 33% share in the new entity, which will be able to sponsor and underwrite A shares, foreign investment shares and government and corporate bonds. The firm will not be able to offer secondary market services such as research and broking, however: under new regulations announced in 2007 Sino-foreign joint ventures must show a track record of five years’ unblemished service before being able to expand their activities.

Public Bank is Malaysia’s largest bank by market capitalization and, by some distance, the country’s best-performing lender. It offers excellent financial ratios, the steadiest yields in the country and, most pertinently in these turbulent times, a steady institution focused on maintaining growth while minimizing risk.

Amman is the somewhat unexpected home of what, by some measures, is the largest bank in the Middle East – Arab Bank.

The past 12 months have not been easy for banks in Nicaragua. A surge in inflation, which peaked at 126.6% in December 2007, to one of the highest rates in the world, has adversely affected the purchasing power of banking clients across the country. This has affected the banks’ non-performing loan portfolios and has tested the strength of Nicaragua’s financial institutions.

Raiffeisen Bank managed to extend its market leadership in Albania, despite increased competition from such rivals as Banka Kombetare Tregtare and American Bank of Albania. Raiffeisen Bank Albania is firmly ranked as the number one bank by assets, deposits and loans, on both a corporate and retail basis. The bank continues to extend its client coverage and now has 97 branches, almost three times those of its nearest rival; 154 ATMs, double its closest competitor’s; and more than 400 point-of-sales terminals. The bank also extended its mobile banking team, reaching out to previously unbanked sections of the population. Thanks to this expansion, Raiffeisen Bank managed to grow its customer base by 14% in 2007, which helped it double its retail lending, while corporate loans rose by 45%. Growth did not come at the cost of profitability, however. The bank reported a cost-income ratio of 40% and a pre-tax return on equity of 58%.

Very few banks can claim a record as good as BNP Paribas’ over the past year.