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Europe's retail investors are about to be inundated with securities that claim to put them on a par with the most prized funds.

There are two types of banks – those that are good to work for and those that are good to own. Investment banks fall into the first category. They deliver huge financial rewards to their employees, who have succeeded through good times and bad in extracting extraordinarily high pay in return for risking shareholders' capital. If their bets pay off, they scoop a healthy chunk of the winnings. If they don't, bankers can lose only their jobs.

It is a common view, especially in the US, that continental Europe is shackled by big government and a lack of reform. The corollary is that its economy and its stock markets will underperform those of the US or the UK.

The brainchild of Santander's chairman, Emilio Botín, Santander Group City is set to become Europe's largest corporate headquarters. But not everyone at the bank is happy to embrace a US-style working culture. Jules Stewart reports.

Euromoney Private Banking Awards Dinner

A free market for Russia's electricity is within sight as the break-up of the power sector bolts through the halfway mark. Ben Aris reports.

The EBRD has done such a good job in central and eastern Europe, opening up market access and catalyzing transformation of financial systems, that it now may no longer be needed. It must look once again to more troubled economies farther east to renew its mission. Julian Evans reports.

The new management fee structure adopted by Infiniti Capital is likely to ruffle a few feathers in the fund of funds industry. The Swiss investment house is launching a fund of funds, for wealthy individuals and institutional investors, on a zero entry fee basis.

The Kazakh banking sector, which has leapt forward at a remarkable rate for the past four years under the strict supervision of the central bank, is about to get a new supervisor. What next for this success story? Chris Pala reports.

UK banking group HBOS has received many plaudits for its innovative financing in 2003. Deals have included covered bonds, securitization programmes and retail-driven tier 1 capital deals. When you have had to fund £55 billion of asset growth in the past 12 months alone, you are always going to be on the look-out for new funding methods. "In 2003 we had to fund this growth and lengthen wholesale maturities, but we didn't want to over issue in any sector," said HBOS head of funding and liquidity Tony Main at a Credit Suisse First Boston credit conference held in December.

Senior credit analyst, Cheyne Capital