The American lending company QuickCashLoans specializing in providing short term loans to US citizens has implemented an online loan application form.c 

While mobile network operators have stolen the lead in the provision of mobile payment services to unbanked people in developing countries such as Africa,  their ability to provide full banking services, and get involved in remittances, may be somewhat limited. Partnering with established global banks, seeking to capitalise on unbanked regions, could be the answer, writes Liz Salecka.

In August, the first war for a decade took place in Europe, as Russia invaded Georgian territory. Since then, Russia has faced its worst financial crisis since the 1998 debt default. emeafinance editor Julian Evans looks at the economic costs for Russia of its military adventure in Georgia.

Ansher Holding has expanded from its roots as the first western-style investment bank in Uzbekistan, to become a multinational player, with offices in Singapore, UK, Switzerland, UAE and elsewhere, and a diversified pool of product offerings. The chairman of the board of directors of Ansher Holding, Anvar Rasulev, tells us about the company’s plans.

Motorsports, and Formula One in particular, is a major growth area in the Middle East, attracting billions of dollars in investment from some of the biggest local investors. emeafinance editor Julian Evans talks to Simon Azzam, CEO of Union Properties, about the motorsports boom, and Union Properties’ own multi-billion-dollar investment into it.

Tomas Fiala grew up fighting the Komsomol during Czechozlovakia’s Velvet Revolution. Now he is the majority owner of Dragon Capital, Ukraine’s most successful investment bank, but he’s still fighting for investors’ rights, writes Benjamin Seeder in Kiev.

Egypt’s reformist government is grappling with the dilemma of fighting inflation while cutting a growing deficit. However, in the capital markets, Egyptian companies are expanding and becoming MENA regional champions. Julian Evans reports from Cairo.

Ukraine needs to pull out all the stops in its preparations for the Euro 2012 football championship, writes Julian Evans.

Positive reasons for investing in Turkish sovereign debt are becoming more difficult to find these days. However, yields are on the increase and years of fiscal discipline have greatly reduced the risk of default, writes Bernard Kennedy.

The securitisation market is going through the biggest crisis of its existence, a crisis that potentially even threatens its existence. Heads of state including UK prime minister Gordon Brown are blaming securitisation for the present global financial crisis and demanding that securitised assets are brought back on balance sheet. Will the market survive, and in what form? How has the crisis affected emerging markets like Russia or the Gulf, where securitisation is just beginning to take off? emeafinance gathered some of the top bankers in the market together to discuss what is happening, and where to go from here.

With over 20 new MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa funds set up in the last 18 months, are African stocks getting over-valued? Julian Evans reports.

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.