Fannie business: dodgy, accounting at Fannie Mae.
FANNIE MAE, the government-chartered corporation charged with providing liquidity in secondary mortgage markets, exists in the twilight realm between private and public. A report from the agency charged with overseeing the company suggests that its accounting records had a certain hallucinatory quality as well. An investigation by...

Enhancing sovereign debt restructuring.
Since the early 1980s, patterns of emerging market finance have changed significantly. Greater integration of capital markets and a trend toward a greater use of direct lending through bonds has led to relatively decreased use of indirect finance through syndicated bank loans. These changes have produced benefits to investors...

Basel draft finalized; concerns could delay 2006 start.
The Switzerland-based Basel Committee on Banking Supervision met mid-May to finalize the global capital accord (Basel II) it has been working on since 2001. However, ongoing concerns and questions about the accord among U.S. banks, regulators and lawmakers will likely push implementation beyond the 2006 date set by European...

Healthy basis.
WAR-TORN BEIRUT, once the prosperous Paris of the Middle East, now serves as a microcosm for what is possible, and where the tension lies, in other such areas for the region. Peace of a sort exists, reconstruction is needed, the government has ambitious plans, wealthy and expatriate investors are standing...

Arab banking.
In the second of his two-part special report, MOIN SIDDIQI looks at the banking sector in the newly emerging markets of the region and the challenges that lie ahead in the global economy. For foreign bankers and international fund managers, the Arab market offers lucrative opportunities for project finance...

Liberty National Bank.
Neighborhood Banking Like It Used to Be. "Our slogan is neighborhood banking like it used to be," says Stephen R. Jonsson, president and CEO of Liberty National Bank in Bradenton. Evidently the old-fashioned approach, which stresses friendly, personal service and rock-solid integrity, works beautifully in the modern-day world: in...

Gulf banking poised for growth.
Higher oil prices and a downward trend in interest rates have heralded a return to confidence to the Gulf banking sector. Mushtak Parker assesses the prospects for development and growth around the region. WHEN SAUDI ARABIA SNEEZES, the rest of the Gulf states cough. For the last few...

Arab banking.
In the first of a two-part special report, MOIN SlDDIQI examines the performance of regional banks. In this month's issue the concentration is on financial institutions in the Gulf states. The Arab banks, as a consequence of a rapid environmental changes in the 1980s, have had to adjust to...

Facing a testing time.
2 August marks the fifth anniversary of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The continuing threat from Iraq, and an increasingly militant National Assembly which is challenging the very heart of Al-Sabah family rule in the emirate, has led to fears by potential foreign investors and banks. While the gutted buildings...

Mary K. Bush.
A premium player in the international finance arena devoting her energy to Texaco's board. Mary K. Bush, president of Bush & Co., an international consulting firm, becomes the second African-American elected to Texaco's board. Her appointment closely follows Texaco's pledge, following its recent travails, of recruiting talented minorities to...