Turkey's government, led by prime minister Tayyip Erdogan, is exploring alternatives to an IMF loan to finance its budget deficitFacing an exploding budget deficit and enormous domestic debts, the Turkish government continues to have a ravenous appetite for borrowing, but still wants to avoid funds from the IMF. Writer Metin Demirsar
The collapse in Spanish property prices and the rise in loan defaults and toxic assets has left the cajas - the 45 mutuals responsible for more than half of the country's mortgage lending - staring consolidation in the face in a bid for survival. Writer Jules Stewart
Close adherence to international regulatory standards has protected Madrid's financial system from embroilment in the subprime market that has so badly harmed rival centres New York, London and Paris. Yet Spain's flailing economy must be tended to if Madrid is to rise as a dynamic alternative. Writer Rodrigo Amaral
Few markets in central and eastern Europe have escaped investor fears over excessive corporate debt. Equity offerings are on hold and refinancing conditions have rarely been tougher, but there are opportunities for banks that stay in the game, writes Philip Alexander.
The state-owned Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat may be performing well, but Luxembourg operations of Fortis and Dexia have encountered problems as the knock-on effect of the recession in powerful neighbouring economies takes its toll on one of the world's smallest countries. Writer Nick Kochan