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MULTILATERALS

It's not the easiest of times for Mexican president Vicente Fox, whose country is suffering from the double whammy of a falling oil price and the knock-on effects of the US recession. But even if the stresses of his job are keeping him awake at night, they haven't done anything to dull his good looks.

President, Bank of America Europe

If anyone thought that some debtor countries take their responsibilities to the multilaterals less than seriously, they won't be encouraged by the arrival of a new board game - Deuda Eterna.

Argentina's de facto default on $130 billion in face value of debt - investors who've seen the price of their bonds more than halve to 35 cents on the dollar in four months are in no doubt that this is a default-like loss, if not yet a legal default - and the tortuous progress of its supposedly voluntary and orderly debt restructuring, which shows no sign of being either, have drawn renewed and urgent calls for a better approach to sovereign debt work-outs.

Head of global debt markets group, Merrill Lynch

Issuer: Republic of Italy Amount: ¥200 billion Launched: December 1996 Deal: Currency swap

When the largest brokerage firm in America sends an email to all its employees offering them voluntary redundancy, it's a sign that something more than a periodic bout of investment banking blood-letting is under way.

Engin Akçakoca, the new director of Turkey's banking regulation and supervision agency, takes on the challenges of reforming the Turkish banking system, which is suffering from a deficiency of capital.

Washington's pressure on banks to crack down on illicit money will impel fearful bankers into still tougher surveillance. To the tangle of checks on money laundering and flows to tax havens must now be added the hunt for often legal money flowing to what are deemed illicit activities. Banks face a huge reputational risk. But the extent to which they can take on policing roles and take initiatives to avert crime remains highly contentious. Neither the technology nor systems exist to make tracing tainted cash straightforward. So is the ultimate answer creating more vigilant, yet less commercial, corporate cultures?

Heavily influenced by Washington, international financial institutions may be irresistibly drawn in by the US-led coalition's war on terrorism. Their performance was already under scrutiny. Now it's likely they will favour countries that are strategically crucial, paying less heed to their records in economic governance and financial sector reform. Shrinking private capital flows to emerging markets may allow the IMF and World Bank to regain some lost prestige. But if they lend to uncreditworthy coalition partners, private creditors may not follow.

Issuance is down in the medium-term note market. September's terrorist attacks have left the market nursing its wounds. Fears about liquidity and concerns about widening spreads have persuaded many issuers and investors to stay away.