After performing admirably in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the growth of Lebanon's banks dramatically slowed. The Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and north Africa last year further unsettled the country's financial sector, but, as leading figures from its banks explain, there is still a great deal of room for optimism.
The concepts on which a European banking union is based are flawed. Basing this union on the principles upon which the German savings banks model is founded – a model that has remained stable in recent years of crisis – would be a more sensible option.
For the past few years Greece, has been fighting its fiscal deficit with a harsh austerity programme. However, the limited success of this approach means that if the country is to make a sustainable recovery from its current economic crisis, its policies must focus more on instigating growth.
Turkey’s central bank has apparently achieved the impossible by successfully tackling inflation, stabilising the country's currency and combating speculative inflows through an unconventional mix of interest rate cuts and tweaking reserve requirements. But can these changes hold up against the changing economic climate?
The manner in which the Greek restructuring deals have been carried out, and the preferred investor status given to the ECB and the central banks of other European countries, has left the private sector badly burned. Will this lead to a reluctance from private investors to re-enter the country, or the eurozone in general, thus hindering its recovery?
The people of Scotland will have the opportunity to vote on the country's independence from the rest of the UK in 2014. But while the decision will inevitably be an emotive one, the financial, business and political ramifications cannot be ignored, and it appears that there is still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding them.
Austria's government, driven an agenda to ensure that tax-payers do not pay for the financial crisis, which has seen it implement strict measures to fast-track compliance with Basel III rules, appears to show no sign of relenting in its dealings with the country's embattled banks.
The troubled past of some securitisation products is making the comeback of this financial tool in Europe slow and fragile, but unless a bridge can be built from the current situation to an active securitisation market, the hopes for any growth in the continent will dim dramatically. Maybe the new Prime Collateralised Securities label can be that bridge.
A stagnant home market and declining prospects in western Europe have encouraged Swiss wealth managers to expand in emerging markets. But the strategy for success is not always straightforward, and now a number of regional players have come to the fore looking to challenge Swiss dominance in this field.
Egypt's tumultuous political landscape of the past 18 months has, predictably, had an impact on it banks. However, the sector has shown impressive resilience since the Arab Spring uprisings, focusing on SME lending and commercial activities with some degree of success. But with foreign investors staying away and further political upheaval still a possibility, the country's rebuilding process still has some way to go.