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Germany's public-sector Landesbanken and the savings banks linked with them have responded remarkably well to the removal of state guarantees. Like their peers elsewhere in Europe, the most successful of them are rapidly developing new business

This month, Euromoney seeks to debunk two of the great myths of the international financial markets.

The UK has the EU's most extensive public finance initiative programme. According to pro-PFI lobbying group the PFI Forum, at March 1 this year 276 projects with a combined capital value of more than £34 billion ($61 billion) had been completed and were operating.

While other state banking groups in Europe cast covetous eyes at Calyon, the investment banking arm of the Credit Agricole group, CNCE's Ixis is surprising many with its ambition.

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Europe's leading companies are so threatened by competition from aggressive and multiplying private-equity firms that they need to mimic the firms' approach.

Slovakia plans to establish a primary dealership system for 2006, and expects to decide on which banks have made the grade by the end of this year. According to Daniel Bytcanek, director of Ardal, the Slovak debt management agency, between eight and 10 banks will be appointed as primary dealers, made up of a combination of international investment banks that are most active in Slovak debt, and three or four local banks.

Poised between stellar growth and a spectacular new collapse.

Further banking sector consolidation is on the cards in South Africa, analysts predict, as projected GDP growth of more than 4% for 2005 tempts foreign players in.

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When Caja Madrid's management realized it had little scope to expand in domestic retail banking, it sought new markets both in Spain and overseas