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For a horse-racing enthusiast like Martyn Arbib, the sale of Perpetual, his pride and joy, will prompt mixed feelings.

The traffic may have eased a little in Bangkok since the crash, but there is still gridlock in Thailand's banking system.

India has hit on a not-so-novel idea to shield an economy made vulnerable by high international oil prices. The government has got State Bank of India, the country's largest bank, to sell Five-year foreign currency deposits to expatriate Indians to help tackle a worsening balance of payments situation.

Demand for structured medium-term notes, particularly equity linked, has exploded over the past two years. Yet it is retail buyers rather than sophisticated institutional investors who are purchasing these complex products. It’s not just the investor profile that has changed. The route map for the origination and distribution of structured debt is being redrawn too. In the heart of euroland some surprising new players and alliances have emerged to service structured debt’s most important new client: the man on the street. Mike Tims reports

Collectively the world’s leading commercial and investment banks are making rather a mess of transferring parts of their businesses to the internet. Many are committing fundamental business mistakes they would never allow in their traditional operations. Leadership of internet initiatives is often confused, as are their objectives. A few banks may have built good sites for specific businesses but none has come close to putting together a complete set of internet offerings. So say the editors and journalists at euromoney.com who put together this year’s inaugural awards for the best sites in wholesale finance. Matt Ball reports

Four tobacco companies have agreed to pay a proportion of their revenues to 46 US states and territories as compensation for the costs of treating tobacco-related conditions. This amounts to $206 billion over the next 25 years. The master settlement agreement is the largest civil settlement in US history. It has created a massive opportunity for the securitization market, as recipients become keen to turn these future flows into cash now. Even the lawyers want their future fee receivables securitized. Recipients are worried lest any future settlements or event risk bankrupt tobacco companies before they make over these windfall payments. They want bond holders to take that risk. Kay Binnie reports

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The outcome of OM Gruppen's bid to take over the London Stock Exchange remained uncertain as Euromoney went to press, but OM's dynamic founder and chairman, Olof Stenhammar, remained characteristically resolute. "We will go on until the last day [the 60-day bid timetable ends on November 10]," he reported from his car phone between meetings. "We think we have a good case and we will continue to preach its virtues."

Head of institutional coverage for German-speaking clients, Société Générale

OM Gruppen’s takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange is a symbol of Scandinavia’s technological edge in financial services. Nigel Dudley reports

The EBRD is coming under a barrage of fire for its lending policy in Russia. Over the last nine months the pace of lending has been picking up momentum. But the bank is catching flak for three big deals.