They realized that if they are going to survive the competitive shakeout over the next couple of years, they're going to have to find a bigger partner.

It is general consensus [that corporate blackmail] is probably occurring more in Japan than it does in most of the other G-7 countries. There is going to be a lot more discussion, concern [and] focus on some the less ethical trading practices.

We are looking at something that's very much about panic, fear and greed right now. This is a fantastic buying opportunity in the medium to long term.

This thing has taken on greed, panic and fear. Banks and trading companies are getting hammered and their business are doing well in this economy.

Now we're moving into an environment where we've got consolidation at the industry level [and] restructuring at the bank level. It's really anybody's guess right now who the winners and losers are going to be.

Many employees taken on during the bubble period can be viewed as the human equivalent of bad loans. But the refusal by bank management teams during the 1990's to take responsibility and step down to make way for young aggressive talent has undermined reform.