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Syndicated loans: The big squeeze

For years, bankers have been waiting for the bargain basement pricing in the syndicated loan market to bottom. Now, thanks to the Asian financial crisis and, particularly, the troubles facing Japan's banks, it may finally have happened. The funding premium Japanese banks are paying in the market has widened spreads - and in some cases is forcing deals to be pulled altogether.

January 01, 1998

BANKING

It's the way he tells them

Reading economic reports can be a chore, even for the committed. So it is hardly surprising that those who write them try to liven them up. Some opt for catchy titles, but at Bankers Trust in London economist Ian Amstead goes that little bit further.

January 01, 1998

BANKING

Power dressing finale

It's often said that Hong Kong moves faster than other places. And staff at Indosuez WI Carr can testify to just how quickly life can change. In the space of a week the firm went from all the bacchanalia associated with a bull market to huge job cuts.

January 01, 1998

BANKING

Twinkle little euro

Never let it be said that Euromoney doesn't break new ground in its tireless coverage of finance. Last year we brought you the news, from Bowie bonds to Chechen bonds, financing lapdancing to book-writing bankers.

January 01, 1998

BANKING

Counting the weeks

It's just under a year until the start of European monetary union, and you would expect banks to be pulling out all the stops. But while they wrestle night and day with the technical details, little is being done to inject some fun into the proceedings. Salomon Smith Barney is leading the pack with its "Countdown to Emu calendar" - displaying the number of weeks left until January 1 1999 - recently erected in the firm's lobby.

January 01, 1998

Three ways to make a mark

Spanish banking is clearly segmented by strategy, domestic banks competing for the retail markets and foreign banks heavily involved in offering services to multinationals and attempting to develop lower-level corporate business. With some privatizations still to be undertaken and rapid development of the equity market at both issuer and investor level there's substantial growth to play for. Margaret Popper reports.

January 01, 1998

Beware state guarantees

Lending to European borrowers backed by a government guarantee should be as safe as houses. But beware of the state aid rules, warns Christopher Stoakes.

January 01, 1998

BANKING

The pundit's progress

When Daniel Lian changes his job, the media are sure to follow. When he resigned from the NatWest office in Singapore recently, the permanent Reuters camera, one of only four in the country, also moved out. Sure enough, when he started at ANZ the camera reappeared, enabling his popular television appearances to continue. This is impressive testament to the currency and bond strategist's reputation as a television economics pundit.

January 01, 1998

And then there were three

On Friday November 21, when the board of Yamaichi Securities met to discuss downsizing the firm, president Shohei Nozawa stunned board members by proposing instead that it should wind itself up. Andrew Horvat reports on the events leading to the collapse of one of Japan's big four securities houses.

January 01, 1998

BANKING

Why didn't they fly in Breuer?

Why did NatWest refuse Deutsche Morgan Grenfell's offer of £150 million ($248 million) for the equity operations of NatWest Markets?

January 01, 1998

Caught with their pants down?

Rating agencies have been strongly criticized for failing to spot the Asian crisis. Investment-grade bonds have been downgraded to junk status - but only after problems have appeared and without much warning. For the first time the agencies are having to justify themselves. Are they as good in Asia as they are in the US? Steven Irvine reports.

January 01, 1998

After the fun - the real challenge

They were sent from Athens, London and Madrid. They burned the midnight oil and engaged in intellectual debate, hammering out the finer points of monetary union. But by spring, the economists will be rolling up their spreadsheets and leaving Frankfurt as the European Monetary Institute is transformed into the European Central Bank. In the meantime, the battle for influence has to be won all over again. In the committee rooms, it is already beginning. By Laura Covill.

January 01, 1998

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