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Citigroup's latest acquisition

Deutsche Bank wanted to buy it because it wanted a bigger presence in investment banking in the US. Merrill Lynch considered putting in an offer because it wanted to improve its coverage of the technology sector. But Chase Manhattan is the bank that finally secured the 30-year-old California-based investment-banking boutique Hambrecht & Quist. And this time, the rumour mill has it, it's because Chase needs it as a way into equities. Antony Currie reckons that's not the case

From the mid-1990s enabling legislation and corporate issuance guaranteed a rapid take-off for Japan's securitization market. But economic recovery, recapitalization of the Japanese banks and their renewed enthusiasm for holding corporate assets may leave the market dependent on consumer finance and residential mortgage deals. This might not be enough to sustain the sector. Luciano Mondellini reports.

Edited by Rebecca Bream

Who pushed NatWest?

Turkey is supposed to be privatizing; it's also ostensibly following policies that will bring down inflation. But vested interests that benefit from the unwieldy structure of state corporations and a banking industry dependent on earnings from high-interest treasury paper are thwarting these processes. The privatization of Turk Telekom is a tangled tale of delay and indecision, and a banking industry that can cope with a low-inflation environment is something to hope for rather than an immediately practicable reality. Metin Munir reports.

Who pushed NatWest?

When cutting costs is not enough

When cutting costs is not enough

Edited by Brian Caplen

Joining the Wall Street party

Traditional active equity asset managers are alienating their institutional clients through underperfomance and high fees. Many pension funds and insurance companies in the US, UK and Europe are embracing passive index tracking, while others are devoting more attention to the rewards - and the risks - of hedge fund investing. The search is on for performance, or alpha, wherever it may be found. The whole asset management business may soon be transformed. Peter Lee reports.