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Bank atlas 1999: The world's biggest banks

Australia: After the gold rush

The race towards a pan-European exchange speeded up on March 11 when Borsa Italiana, the Italian stock market, agreed to cooperate with the Paris and Swiss bourses in their effort to create a single market for the new century.

The volume of money raised by European private equity funds continues to grow. Much of that money is flowing in the belief that continental Europe is close to developing the sort of buy-out and start-up culture which has long produced spectacular returns for venture capitalists in the US. In late March Apax Partners closed a €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) pan-European fund. It has the distinction of being the largest private equity fund for Europe denominated in the new currency, but it joins an already large pool of funds, much of it denominated in dollars, which is dedicated for investment in private European companies.

The Germans are at it again. Amid a big diplomatic punch-up, the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision failed to release its long-awaited consultation paper on credit risk control and capital adequacy on April 9.

Sicily's wait for money is over. The regional government found itself nearly L1.7 trillion ($1 billion) late last year and over 40 banks refused to lend. Nor was there interest in a local bond issue.

Who is Alice in euroland? Is it the average euro-punter watching his assets disappear down a deflationary rabbit hole? According to Willem Buiter, Cambridge economics professor and a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, the white rabbit is the European Central Bank (ECB). It's operating on flawed principles, he says in a paper, Alice in euroland, published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Hoping that his criticism will be constructive, he recommends the ECB should have greater accountability – publishing its minutes and answering to a parliamentary/judicial committee – and a smaller governing council and executive board, so it can act more promptly. Above all it should have the role of lender of last resort, so that, like the US Federal Reserve, it can stand behind the currency and, implicitly, support the major credit institutions when they're strapped for cash.

Arab banks used to be content to stick to their lucrative national markets. But with oil prices low, times are getting harder in the Middle East and banks are positioning themselves to go regional. Darren Stubing reports.

Middle East: Arab banks lay regional plans