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When a Wall Street law firm was asked to advise on investing in Hungary in 1989, it fell to Douglas Rediker, then a 30-year-old attorney, to do the research. "When we asked the opinion of a Hungarian lawyer," Rediker remembers, "we'd get back a hand written note saying: 'Dear Mr Rediker, It is okay to do what you ask.' It didn't give us a whole lot of comfort. On the other hand it was quite intriguing."

Macquarie Bank is a rare type of investment bank. It has made returns on equity of over 20% for 10 years by constantly moving into new business areas such as property securitization. Steven Irvine meets its managing director Allen Moss - a man who eschews ostentation and wears pens in his pocket - and head of infrastructure and asset group Nicholas Moore.

A puny equity market, a handful of government bonds and a stalled privatization programme. What on earth could interest portfolio investors here? The answer is the long-term view. Kazakhstan, surrounded by basket cases, is trying to sell itself as a safe-haven for medium and long-term investment. By David Shirreff

The EBRD's shareholders demanded that the bank be big in Russia. The investment bankers running the place responded by making deals. The result? €261.2 million ($284 million) of losses last year more than half due to provisioning against the Russian portfolio. New president Horst Köhler says that strategy not volume must drive programmes in future - corporate governance, institution building and lending to small enterprises are his top priorities. But below him not a single head has rolled even though EBRD bankers sat on the boards of Russian banks that went under. Only in a public institution would they get off so lightly. Brian Caplen reports.

Last August's banking crisis in Russia had a differential effect. Big players heavily committed to the government bond market were hardest hit, smaller banks with less exposure not only survived but have picked up new clients. Ben Aris reports

After so many years of gloom is there at last a glimmer of light in Nigeria? Following February's presidential election, the country's prospects for inward investment and economic stability have seldom looked brighter. Recent activity in the capital market may hint at economic improvement ahead. But fearsome problems remain and fast-track growth is still some way off. Philip Moore reports

Euroland Municipal Bonds: New city states

Privatization: Keep the state out of business

It's just over two weeks since Márcio Cypriano was named president of Banco Bradesco, Latin America's largest private-sector bank. He's relaxed about it, often chuckling as he formulates an answer. Márcio Artur Laurelli Cypriano's laid-back attitude should be helpful in an environment in which currencies and the rules of the game change frequently. Referring to the Brazilian government's disastrous attempt to make an 8% controlled devaluation of the real on January 13, followed by the currency's collapse when it was allowed to float on January 15, Cypriano says: "In 50 years, we've had 19 currencies and indexers. Many times the indexers are confused with a currency."

Portuguese Banking: Carving out a new role

Euroland Municipal Bonds: New city states

Euroland Municipal Bonds: New city states