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A native of Calicut, India, Arjun Mathrani was one of a cadre of foreign-born bankers groomed for leadership at what was historically the most international of US financial institutions: Chase Manhattan Bank. But now Mathrani has become one of the last of such senior executives to leave at a time when the bank seems less internationally focussed.

Days before South African president Nelson Mandela lambasted "apartheid patterns of ownership" in a five hour speech to December's ANC congress, the final nails went into the coffin of South Africa's showpiece black empowerment deal.

On Friday November 21, when the board of Yamaichi Securities met to discuss downsizing the firm, president Shohei Nozawa stunned board members by proposing instead that it should wind itself up. Andrew Horvat reports on the events leading to the collapse of one of Japan's big four securities houses.

They flyfish, birdwatch, trek and mountain climb. They have brought us Bowie bonds and Brady bonds. They've worked on privatizations and flotations. They head top banks, have founded their own firms, introduced new markets and strengthened fragile emerging economies. Meet Euromoney's top fifty financial whizzkids from around the world - and take note. They are impressive now, but their peers believe they are destined for even greater things

They were sent from Athens, London and Madrid. They burned the midnight oil and engaged in intellectual debate, hammering out the finer points of monetary union. But by spring, the economists will be rolling up their spreadsheets and leaving Frankfurt as the European Monetary Institute is transformed into the European Central Bank. In the meantime, the battle for influence has to be won all over again. In the committee rooms, it is already beginning. By Laura Covill.

And then there were three

Few bankers would include the fact that they were once a scout on their CV, "as a joke". But Peter Luthy is not, perhaps, an ordinary banker. A fit-looking and apparently easy-going 46, he gives off a convincing sense of having squeezed the most out of life. He spent two years in his early 20s working as an idealistic carpenter in New Jersey and another two in his late 30s as a wealthy non-worker, travelling the world with his milliner wife Candace and skiing wherever the opportunity arose - 100 days a year.

Riccardo dei Conti Pavoncelli is the younger son of an Italian count. He plays polo, sits at London's finest dinner tables and is married to the daughter of controversial socialite Claus von Bulow. In short, he is an obvious target for gossip columnists.

Investment bankers' pay has been pushed through the roof as European firms seek to compete with Wall Street. But now banks are squeezing costs as they see their growth prospects fade. For all but the very best employees, the days of sky-high salaries may soon be over. So don't spend that seven-figure bonus all at once - it may be the last for some time. By Suzanne Miller.

With trillions of dollars of securities lent or temporarily sold each day the risks, once thought minimal, began to look higher in November. There's a rethink on counterparty risk and the practice of making a spread on lower-grade collateral, but the credit-spread business is growing. Michelle Celarier reports.

Global Economic Projections: Overall Rankings

Country Risk December 1997: It could be worse