Americas - The Banker

Argentina's season of change

Despite the twin threats of the worst drought to strike South America in decades and the continuing fallout from global financial crisis, Argentina's lenders have survived relatively unscathed. And now a debt swap offer could allow the country to access international credit markets. Writer Silvia Pavoni

• Read More Americas

Argentina's season of change

Despite the twin threats of the worst drought to strike South America in decades and the continuing fallout from global financial crisis, Argentina's lenders have survived relatively unscathed. And now a debt swap offer could allow the country to access international credit markets. Writer Silvia Pavoni

• Read More Latin America

Argentina's season of change

Despite the twin threats of the worst drought to strike South America in decades and the continuing fallout from global financial crisis, Argentina's lenders have survived relatively unscathed. And now a debt swap offer could allow the country to access international credit markets. Writer Silvia Pavoni

• Read More Argentina

IDB aims to stay relevant

Since becoming president of the Inter-American Development Bank in October 2005, Luis Alberto Moreno has appointed new managers, updated the bank’s lending policies and restructured the institution. He talks to Jane Monahan.

• Read More Bermuda

Luis Arce

Since president Evo Morales took office in Bolivia in 2006, political stability has gone hand-in-hand with a period of robust economic growth. The country's finance minister shares with The Banker how Bolivia has managed to protect itself from the worst of the global economic crisis and spells out plans for future expansion. Writer Jane Monahan

• Read More Bolivia

Brazilian banks tread cautiously on expansion

Recent rumours about Brazilian bank expansion would suggest that the country's main players are thinking big. Itaú Unibanco in particular has been linked with a number of deals across the globe, while Banco do Brasil is believed to be considering a move into Argentina. The reality, however, looks likely to be much more prosaic. Writer John Rumsey

• Read More Brazil

Canada's rare euro excursion pays off

Canada, rarely observed in the international bond markets, sparked intense interest at the beginning of the year with its debut euro-denominated 10-year bond issue. Will there be more sightings to come, or is this just a one-time foray? Writer Edward Russell-Walling

• Read More Canada

Luis Alberto Moreno

The president of the Inter-American Development Bank - the international body which supports the growth of Latin America and the Caribbean - outlines his short-term and long-term priorities. Writer Silvia Pavoni

• Read More Caribbean

Will Chile's right turn mean business?

Chile's new right-wing government has promised to sustain the country's growth trajectory with a series of reforms, aimed at diversifying its economy, which is highly dependent on the copper industry, and improving conditions for SMEs. Writer Jason Mitchell

• Read More Chile

Banks are competing to fund infrastructure investment

Hindered by years of armed conflict and governmental infighting, Colombia has launched a long-awaited infrastructure development programme, set to pump $24bn into its ailing transport network and, in turn, stimulate healthy competition among its banks as they bid to provide funding. Writer John Rumsey

• Read More Colombia

Incomers incite fight for clients

As foreign players enter the market, John Rumsey in San José asks how much competition is healthy for Costa Rica’s banks?

• Read More Costa Rica

Maria Elsa Viteri

Ecuador's private banks are up in arms about the effects of government intervention on their profits. The country's finance minister, however, rejects such accusations, saying that the relationship between bank and customer was in need of a rebalancing. Writer Rodrigo Amaral in Madrid

• Read More Ecuador

Winners and Losers in LATAM

Some of the multilateral development banks in the Latin Americas region are proving stellar sources of funding at this time of crisis, although others are lagging behind with depleted reserves. Writer Jane Monahan

• Read More El Salvador

Right place, wrong time

Just as the banking industry’s big names turned their attention towards Guatemala, the credit crisis struck, plunging the country’s modernisation plans into jeopardy. Writer John Rumsey.

• Read More Guatemala

Mexico is well positioned for any global recovery

Mexico's ties to the US economy, its well-capitalised banks and the business-friendly reforms it has in the pipeline mean the country is perfectly positioned to ride the wave of any global economic recovery. Optimism is such, that there is even talk of the country being classified alongside the BRIC economies. Writer Silvia Pavoni

• Read More Mexico

Alberto Jose Guevara Obregon

Nicaragua's finance minister tells The Banker how government efforts to attract foreign direct investment to the relatively untapped energy sector are seen as crucial if the region is finally to shake itself out of poverty. Writer Silvia Pavoni

• Read More Nicaragua

Panama's show of strength

All but three of the Top 75 central American banks remained in profit last year according to The Banker's ranking, with Panama recording stand-out results. Writer Silvia Pavoni

• Read More Panama

Rich in resources, poor on policies

Paraguay’s new finance minister tells Hugh O’Shaughnessy why the country cannot make the most of its natural assets.

• Read More Paraguay

In a league of its own

Political and economic turbulence has long afflicted Peru's reputation, but having finally found a way of using its natural resources to the country's best advantage, the scale of its rising prosperity has international investors excited. Writer Silvia Pavoni

• Read More Peru

Puerto Rico's banks reach a critical juncture

Puerto Rico's dependence on the US meant that the subprime crisis hit its banking sector particularly hard. A period of consolidation is now expected, but who the winners will be - the big domestic players or foreign-owned entities - remains to be seen. Writer Jane Monahan in Puerto Rico

• Read More Puerto Rico

A tough call

Regulators are intent on reforming the role that derivatives play in bankruptcies, with the aim of preventing a future AIG or Lehman Brothers. But some are warning that, without a direct ban of these controversial financial instruments, this will be no easy task. Writer Suzanne Miller

• Read More United States

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• Read More Uruguay

Venezuela's banks survive in the face of adversity

A casual glance at Venezuela's banking sector would suggest that it is in good health. However, intervention from president Hugo Chavez's government is threatening the stability of the country's financial environment. Writer Brian Caplen

• Read More Venezuela