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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.

If you were trying to scupper the career of an over-zealous colleague, this is the sort of financing mandate you might want to throw in their direction: first, make it a commodity deal (preferably not oil which is suddenly showing signs of revival); second, set the deal in a developing country, at a time when emerging markets are out of vogue, and local currency financing is scarce. Finally, throw in a little political difficulty, such as the arrest of a former president, which leads to fighting on the streets and the threat of trade sanctions.

Turkey: Sustaining the unsustainable

Bond Trading Poll: Emu shuffles the rankings

There aren't many real ex-rocket scientists for hire, but another area investment banks might look at is nuclear engineering - a skill that's becoming less sought after these days. Merrill Lynch's affable new hire Dante Roscini spent five years designing nuclear power plant before dwindling enthusiasm for the nuclear industry prompted a rethink. After business school he ended up at Goldman Sachs in 1988.

So, the succession at Chase is decided. Bill Harrison will inherit a bank riding high in the league tables, doing deals in the darkest days of the crisis and basking in the respect of its peers. How did Tom Labrecque and Walter Shipley do it? By rethinking the bank's whole approach to risk management and being able to say no to marriage proposals. But if it is to continue on this roll and become a true one-stop shop, Chase needs to do a deal sooner or later. Michelle Celarier reports.

Credit Research poll results: Moving down the credit curve

Why has the merger of Chase and Chemical succeeded while others have not?

Pfandbriefe: Germany's secret gamblers

After so many months of nervous promises that the euro would herald a new era of bond issuance and credit awareness, bankers can hardly believe it. Volumes in the first quarter have been huge. Europe's investors are forsaking the safety of government bonds and placing big orders for corporate paper. In this new market everything is up for grabs. Market practices are ill-defined, pricing is uncertain and the league table results are wide open. Peter Lee reports.

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