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Credit Research Poll 1998: Pioneers in their field

Islamic banks aim for the mainstream

Banks are building up their European credit research in the run up to Emu. Teams are being bolstered and specialists hired. But who is getting it right? The first ever poll of European credit research gives investors the chance to decide. SBC Warburg, Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan all did well, writes Brian Caplen. The poll was conducted by Rebecca Dobson.

FX poll 1998: A tough race gets tougher

State bail-outs for indebted, inefficient and over-politicized banks were supposed to be a thing of the past in Hungary. Not so. As its rivals rake in profits - transforming Budapest into the financial hub of eastern Europe - the country's second-largest financial institution, Postabank, has limped back to the warm milk of public funds for yet another capital increase as the government makes yet another push to find a buyer for the troubled bank.

Many Moslems are proud of their approach to finance but are bemused by western criticism. Richard Freeland explains.

Next time your bank appoints a law firm to conduct a piece of litigation, ask the firm to explain what it understands by "regret" and "the theory of the matter" By Christopher Stoakes.

The bad-loan troubles of Japan's banks are no secret. Western vultures have been circling Tokyo for months knowing that at some point the banks would go through their pain threshold. When that happened they would start offloading problem loans at the best prices they could muster. For many Japanese banks that point has been reached and the market in Japanese distressed loans is getting into full swing. US banks especially are expanding distressed trading operations in Tokyo - Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch have all recently expanded their operations.

After months of confusion, denial and fantasy economics, reality finally dawns in Indonesia. The banking sector is being reformed and corporate debts are being rescheduled. Local borrowers are quickly finding out which foreign banks plan to stick it out in Indonesia and which can't wait to shut up shop after calling in all their loans in full. Maggie Ford reports.

Chile's pension-fund system is admired and revered worldwide. It is the model reformers from other countries always turn to. But the system is not without blemishes. Fierce competition between fund managers has led to high-pressure sales methods and finally an industry shake-out. The gains for account holders of lower fees could be short-lived as consolidation gets under way.

Most commercial bankers acknowledge the illiquid loan problem. But not many of them are freeing their loan book with loan sales, credit derivatives, and collateralized loan obligations - yet. It's a new game. But a handful of banks have sipped from the holy grail, and are pressing the regulators to change the Basle capital requirements. Antony Currie reports.

Just how much intense hard work can the market's leading traders pack into one three-day conference? Consider the schedule for the International Securities Market Association (Isma) conference in Prague.