As befits a Swiss bank, UBP keeps an ultra discreet and risk-averse profile, with liquidity exceeding regulatory requirements, but in 2008 it shocked the banking establishment when its clients emerged as major victims of swindler Bernard Madoff.

FORBES: Hedge Fund Pioneer Edgar De Picciotto Is A Billionaire

One of the issues to be resolved by Sony in the course of its planning is whether it will enter the banking industry through establishment of a new bank or by taking over a failed bank.

CNN: Sony considering creation of Internet bank

The crisis is intensifying calls for the establishment of some sort of banking union, with centralised powers and funding to regulate and supervise banks as well as to recapitalise ailing ones and to insure retail deposits.

ECONOMIST: Europe��s banks

The Indonesian government has begun to tackle such important issues as privatization of state enterprises, establishment of a social safety net, the restructuring of the corporate and banking sectors, and bankruptcy reform.

CNN: REFORM IS CRUCIAL

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair has announced the establishment of a new joint trust fund to help Asian countries improve the regulation of their banking sectors.

BBC: News | ASEM 2