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Sinking under bad debts, stung by criticism of their poor profitability and shocked by the falling prestige of the ministry of finance, Japanese banks are talking about changing their way of doing things. But why should bankers risk damaging their careers, upsetting their customers ­ who are also their biggest shareholders ­ and putting their fellow citizens out of work by adopting western practices? One western analyst says if he was in charge of a big Japanese bank he wouldn't care about making a decent return on equity, so why should they? Steven Irvine reports.

A year after Bank Austria's deal to take over Creditanstalt, Gerhard Randa has cut the acquisition down to size. No more treasury, no more stand-alone overseas banking. Rump Creditanstalt is a domestic bank that will live or die on somewhat hollow competition. As David Shirreff reports, it's all rather a comedown for this once very blue-blooded bank.

Having spent his entire career at Smith Barney, Steven Black is no stranger to mergers and the blood on the floor they create. He cut his teeth on the 1992 merger of Shearson with Smith Barney, where he headed capital markets. In that position, after the merger, he took the axe to the fixed-income division.

Dynamic exporters, versatile deal-makers, innovative marketers, Turkey has some impressive smaller companies. But they are starved of capital. With interest rates crippling and maturities short, they have financed growth from reserves. Now, as their need for capital grows, they need new options. Metin Munir reports on the problems and opportunities of Turkey's corporate sector, profiles some of its most promising companies and meets the men who want to finance its growth

"Its a lose-lose situation," says an employee at capital-market brokers Euro Brokers when asked about former colleague Cindy Buggins. "If I say something good, I'm helping competitors. If it's bad it looks like sour grapes."

After the fun - the real challenge

Battling to join the elite: Poll of polls

Battling to join the elite: Poll of polls

Wanted: swap dealers to work for department seven of the federal finance ministry in Bonn. Why? Because in November, the budget committee voted to allow the government to write interest rate swaps on its debt.

Extended advising poll

Issuer: Ambroveneto International Bank