"I thought I was a conservative. I think I could have been more conservative"
Mohammed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, admits that he was one of many that overestimated the growth potential of the Dubai real estate sector
(see Reality bites Dubai)
"The credit card business is going through a substantial adjustment. We have an early sight of losses for next year and we could lose a lot of money"
Jamie Dimon, chairman of JPMorgan, warns against complacency as investors pour back into bank stocks
(see Investors may regret rushing back into banks)
"We spend much more time than ever kissing frogs! Before the crisis 19 out of 20 projects would be bankable. Today it is no more than five out of 20"
Cem Mengi, of Turkey’s Akbank, shows how new lending criteria are affecting companies’ funding options
(see Turkish corporates move from tactics to strategy)
"Buy a covered bond and you know you have the weight of the ECB and European governments and regulators behind you. Buy an RMBS and you’re buying an orphan"
Tim Skeet, of Merrill Lynch, makes pitching the Pfandbrief into a family affair
(see Covered bonds: Picking up tacks in front of the steamroller)
"I was asked to buy a deal recently and told the broker that I had not yet read the prospectus.