Banking and double-entry bookkeeping, first created 500 years ago, enabled proto-capitalists to hide their wealth in a myriad of ways.

FORBES: Malone's Musing

Dresdner's cost base is high, while Commerzbank's announcement on Thursday that its retail and commercial banking operating profit was poised for double-digit growth this year, shows that it's doing just fine as is, according to Becker.

FORBES: A Not-So-Grand Allianz

For the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable said that while there was now "relative stability" in the banking system, "another round of bad debts" could produce a "double-dip recession".

BBC: Financial Services Bill

Despite the sharply lower profits and a negative climate for business banking in the US, the firm said it was still confident it could deliver double-digit income growth this year.

BBC: Scandal pay-outs hit Citigroup profits

As a result, worries about the European banking sector have meant another round of steep losses in equities, with shares of some French banks posting double-digit percentage losses.

FORBES: Most-Active Comex Gold Touches $1,800 For First Time On Euro-Zone Debt Worries