Herbert Stepic, Deputy Chairman of Vienna-based Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich (RZB) and CEO of Raiffeisen International, is widely regarded across the European banking industry as the chief architect of RZB’s aggressive expansion in Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. He speaks with Christopher Moore, emeafinance’s publisher, about his 30 plus year international career at the bank.

The credit crunch, fuelled by illiquid markets and general fear across the finance industry, has had its impact on the EMEA region. But pessimism does not blanket the entire market as emeafinance discovered when it questioned some of EMEA’s leading buy side investors. On the contrary, the slowdown has provided time to evaluate deals and countries. Some governments are addressing fiscal imbalances and where necessary, high inflation.

It caused a certain amount of surprise in financial circles when Lado Gurgenidze was made prime minister of Georgia in November 2007. Julian Evans caught up with him recently in Tallinn, Estonia.

As Egypt's government faces food riots and discontent on the street, foreign investors keep on coming.

emeafinance's 2008 awards sought to recognise the best banks, teams, and deals in the EMEA region in 2007. The winners are:

Despite the collapse of the ruling coalition, investors are hopeful the Hungarian government can stick to its fiscal austerity plans and weather the global credit crunch, writes Kester Eddy in Budapest.

Mozambique is creeping back onto investors’ radar scanners, as commercial financing trickles grow steadier, writes Kevin Godier.

For decades Libya was a ‘pariah’ state, shunned by the international community. In 2004 the doors were flung open and foreign investors were enticed in, promises were made, contracts signed, hopes raised. Four years on however it appears that inertia and backtracking by the Gaddafi administration has set in. Was it all too good to be true after all, asks Nicholas Noe.