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Banks are constantly exploring new and cheaper ways of raising and using capital. After Tier 1 (shareholders' funds) and Tier 2 (debt capital) comes Tier 3 to support short-term trading positions. But only the adventurous Dutch have put Tier 3 to use. There seems to be more mileage in clever structures such as callable perpetuals. Jules Stewart reports.

FX Poll 1997: Taken aback by a leap forward

Issuer: Household International

Rarely has a deal triggered such animosity: joint lead managers who couldn't bear the bookrunner; unreturned telephone calls; alleged breaches of a gentleman's agreement. That's if you believe the members of the syndicate. But if you believe the bookrunner, the other banks are "squawking" in their own dream world. Amid such squabbling, the $1 billion debut by the central bank of the Philippines had to be pulled at the last moment - leaving behind recriminations that will sour the Asian capital markets for years. Steven Irvine reports.

Yann Gindre became an instant celebrity last summer - but not for reasons entirely of his own choosing. When most high-rolling Euromarketeers were lying on tropical beaches or on their private yachts, Gindre became the centre of a tug-of-war, as senior executives at BZW in London jockeyed for position following the arrival of Robert Diamond from Credit Suisse First Boston as BZW's new fixed-income supremo.

News of a planned merger between Bankers Trust and broker Alex Brown came in a rush. In fact, though, the firms had long recognized their complementarities and had first started talking about a link-up in 1993. Peter Lee reports.

Yet another trading scandal came very close to rocking a major financial institution in the City of London recently. This time it was Bankers Trust which had a nasty shock when it discovered that blatant rogue trading was going on in its midst. The perpetrators this time were children from a London secondary school attending a Bankers Trust maths weekend at the University of Warwick.

A change in the way US treasuries can be settled promises to inject liquidity into repo markets denominated in illiquid currencies or in markets that lack repo. It also has ramifications for the holding of US treasuries as reserve assets. By Christopher Stoakes

Apart from some well-publicized swap operations that may have turned sour, Belgium's treasury has reduced the kingdom's cost of borrowing dramatically. But, as Charles Piggott reports, potential losses on contracts signed in the early 1990s have raised important questions for all sovereigns trying to balance market confidentiality with public accountability.

1997 Bond Trading Poll: The rise of the continentals

Even in the age-conscious Euromarket where the best and the brightest, like policemen, seem to get younger, Bill Winters is a classic example of a fast-track career. Still only 35, he runs all of JP Morgan's fixed-income activities in Europe. Given Morgan's surge in primary underwriting and inherent strengths in swaps and derivatives, this makes him one of the most important individuals in the Euromarket. "Bill Winters' position is not dissimilar to Jimmy Forese at Salomon Brothers in London but Bill carries the Morgan calling card which gives him a definite advantage," comments a former Salomon managing director.

Investment in private equity markets in eastern Europe is hard work, but enthusiasts reckon it's worth the effort. "In private equity we're sweating a lot trying to turn a profit, and then we look next door and see those guys making a lot of money buying and selling in the public markets," says Philippe Belot, a senior banker at the EBRD. But "we'll be better off in the longer term. We're betting on an upturn in these economies."