Japan: A little help from my friends

An interesting document, which came into Euromoney's hands, maybe sheds some light on the furore in Japan about deals allegedly designed to defer losses over future reporting periods. David Shirreff reports

Two years ago a reliable source at a well-known institution faxed us a document. As it was difficult to verify its details, we felt it inappropriate to publish it. Now that similar deals are the subject of investigation by Japan’s Financial Supervisory Agency (FSA), it may be useful to give the document an airing.

The document makes clear just how much money derivatives dealers made in Japan by structuring complex bonds and then, when the punts went wrong, helping investors hide their losses.It

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