The Russians are coming - to Turkey, at least. State-owned Sberbank is in exclusive talks to buy Turkey's Denizbank from its stressed Franco-Belgian owner Dexia for around $3.5bn.

That fits the theme of weak Western institutions ceding ground to the strong. Sberbank, Russia's dominant retail bank, is on the prowl, having bought assets in Eastern Europe from Austria's Volksbank last fall. Minority investors might prefer Sberbank to stay at home. But there may be more to this potential deal than flag-planting.