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A special report by ING Bank Eurasia

A special report prepared by the GiroCredit Bank Group

The banking sector has been at the leading edge of economic reforms throughout the economies of central Europe. For most of the more developed markets, striving to join the European Union has given them a focus to get their banking sectors in order, and fast. The majority of countries in the region have created sound legislative frameworks based on international banking principles and double-tier banking systems around the core of a broadly independent central bank. However, the hard work is by no means over. The difficult task has been to make sure that the banks that have been created are able to survive and operate according to commercial principles and, ultimately, to stand on their own feet.

A special report by Euromoney

...and sensible Germans

Hans-Peter Bauer: head of global fixed income and derivatives, UBS, London. Tinny Hasendonckx: head of Euromarket trading- Kredietbank Brussels. Thomas Keller: head of asset/liability management-L-Bank, Germany.

The French government has found a novel way of paying off its social security debt - a bond issue that will be paid for out of an earmarked tax. It's not exactly state-backed but there is an implicit guarantee. It may prove popular when investors get a clearer idea of the details. Daniel Evans reports.

Issuer: GPA Amount: $4.05 billion Launched: March 11 Lead manager: Morgan Stanley

For diversity and opportunity look to the markets of central and eastern Europe Showing themselves to be more resilent and different this year, markets in central and eastern Europe are offering foreign investors a wide variety of investment options. Krystyna Krzyzak reports.

Jacques de Larosière ran the IMF, then the Banque de France. Now he's in charge of something halfway between - a development institution favouring private-sector investment, transferring the best of western wealth and know-how to eastern Europe. But should it all have such a French flavour? Jonathan Ford reports.

Why Achilles heel? Because the Bonn government - once the single-minded champion of European economic union - is paralyzed by problems in its own backyard. It has pumped billions of Deutschmarks and man-years of management into its five new Länder, but they show little sign of surviving without life-support. And Germany's slide into recession, in the west and the east, could jeopardize an early move to European economic and monetary union. David Shirreff reports.

New supply forces in the capital market The second-tier and other lesser issuers are driving the market. Albert Smith reports.