Bankers at the top foreign exchange banks may pretend not to care that they have not come top in Euromoney's 2003 market share rankings, or that they are not one of the top five or 10. But they do care - a lot.
A high ranking not only brings prestige. It also helps to attract or maintain clients, especially hedge funds. And it helps to attract the best staff.
Banks often develop their own strong expectations for where they think they will rank. If they fall below that, then someone has to explain why.
Bankers' bonuses and even jobs can depends on a healthy ranking in polls. So when they explain their disappointing ranking to their boss or their clients, they sometimes concoct quite imaginative excuses. We respond to some of the favourites.
The poll does not cover our clients
All banks were told before the survey started that they could refer any clients they wished to our website, where voters could choose from one of six language versions of the questionnaire. Clients could then vote online, or download the survey in word or PDF format and fax it to us. Banks had the 77 days the survey ran (from January 20 to March 28) to direct any clients they wanted to vote to our website.