It castigated the investment bank after one of its analysts speculated that the problem loans of Hana Bank, which is based in Seoul, may be rising.

ECONOMIST: A nasty downturn, but politics as usual

Argentina's problem was that bank deposits and loans were largely dollarised, creating huge problems when its currency sank.

ECONOMIST: Brazil

They have a window of opportunity in the first months of 1999 to make the hard choices on bank recapitalization, a new central bank law, problem loans and forced consolidation.

CNN: THE LONG, HARD CLIMB BACK UP

According to a recent report by bank regulators, problem loans among syndicated lending to companies by groups of banks rose to 5.1% in the second quarter of this year, up from a record low of 2.5% in 1998.

ECONOMIST: Junk bonds

The combination of still-high bank charges and shrinking loans suggests the problem lies with the supply of credit not demand for it, says Kevin Daly at Goldman Sachs.

ECONOMIST: Tackling the slump: Money for something | The

Kim Kyong Lim, chief executive of Korea Exchange Bank, the main lender to Hyundai, argues that this should be no problem, since the bank's sub-standard loans stood at less than 18% of its portfolio at the end of June.

ECONOMIST: South Korea dumps the past, at last

The crux of the problem is that two-thirds of bank deposits are in dollars, as are most loans.

ECONOMIST: Argentina's crisis

Bangkok Bank and Thai Farmers Bank are among the bigger banks which are run more professionally and have fewer problem loans.

CNN: Bottoming-Out in Bangkok?

Another problem is this: American officials say that Kabul Bank appears to have made a number of loans to Afghans close to Mahmoud, possibly even to bodyguards or laborers.

NEWYORKER: The Afghan Bank Heist

Vasco Moreno of Fox-Pitt, Kelton, a stockbroker, says that fully 22%, or euro16 billion, of the bank's gross lending fell into the category of non-performing or problem loans at the end of 2000.

ECONOMIST: An unbecoming Italian merger