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Loan growth moderated to 10.9% in 2011, about half the government's target of 20%, according to Standard & Poor's.

China's Ministry of Finance recently revised its general banking risk reserve norm to at least 1.5% from the current 1% - will this be a boon or a bane?

If so, what can both banks expect from the takeover?

Looks like the regulations in 2011 were successful in reducing major risks by slowing shadow banking activities.

Looks like Japan's banking sector managed to thrive in the midst of disasters.

The government has already sold US$1.5 billion of local Sukuk in March this year, says HSBC Amanah head Herwin Bustaman.

“The key opportunity for banks is to use the point of sale collection technology to provide richer information to their clients,” HSBC’s John Laurens said.

BBVA warns weak banks should first be recapitalized by the government before being merged.

Cuts in required reserve ratios are not enough to fully offset the tighter liquidity conditions, says BBVA.

John Laurens says standardisation of communication channels like SWIFT will also have a great impact to banking technology in the next few years.

Hinton, Standard Chartered's new global head for SME banking, aims to put greater focus on developing and rewarding staff while giving customers superior service.

According to reports, Singapore banks may have to bear the brunt of flat interest margins and low loan growth, but will they really be hit that hard?

HSBC says cloud is a more powerful concept but CIMB warns it still needs to prove its readiness to handle mainstream financial services applications.

Reports say that China's non-performing loans surged to US$68b at the end of 2011 - is this the start of a looming credit crisis in China? Find out what analysts from Fitch and Standard & Poor's have to say.

Taiwanese banks’ net interest margins are unlikely to improve in the next 2 years, says Standard & Poor's.

"The key will be to develop the breadth of coverage and distribution of the variety of products we offer in Indonesia," says Miles Remington, BNP Paribas' new head of equities for Indonesia.