It may not be part of the struggling eurozone but Sweden is suffering its very own Europe-related problems. Its finance minister, Anders Borg, tells The Banker why he does not want the UK to leave the EU, what difficulties could be posed by the formation of a banking union and where the responsibility for bailing out banks should lie.
Emilio Botín, the chairman of Banco Santander, explains how the bank's geographical diversification and philosophy of operating standalone subsidiaries has helped it thrive during the worst years of the crisis, and stand it in good stead for the future.
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder thinks that the rest of Europe needs to follow the reform programme he pioneered for Germany. This, coupled with the establishment of a true political union, will help Europe's damaged economy to recover and rebuild itself.
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 Danish banking sector is adapting to new requirements that mean it must hold more capital and conform to yet more rules. While few in the industry doubt that the system must be more robust, concerns are increasingly being voiced that the country’s banks are having to adjust to more stringent regulations than their EU counterparts, and at a faster pace.
The new CEO of Akbank, Hakan Binbaşgil, explains to Brian Caplen how the past decade has seen the bank transformed by its embracing of new technology, pioneering new channels, targeting Turkey's youthful population, and keeping the customer central to everything it does.
HSBC has not suffered in the global financial crisis as badly as many of its UK counterparts, and it is already well established in the high-growth emerging markets likely to dominate world trade in the coming decades. However, the bank's new chief executive still believes it could be offering better value to HSBC investors.
Russian central bank governor Sergei Ignatiev's decision not to intervene when the country's currency came under pressure earlier this year has been welcomed by economists as a sign that the country's commitment to a more open economy is genuine. The governor explains to The Banker that such a policy is part of his long-term plan for the country.