MIME-Version: 1.0 Server: CERN/3.0 Date: Thursday, 18-Dec-97 12:30:27 GMT Content-Type: text/html Content-Length: 14853 Last-Modified: Thursday, 02-Oct-97 19:14:00 GMT Morgan in the News, September '97

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September, 1997


Tuesday, September 30:

Bankers including Morgan's Wannemethee on Thai advisory board
A Thai business daily reported that top regional bankers from J.P. Morgan, CS First Boston, and Goldman Sachs were asked to join the Financial Restructuring Agency (FRA), a supervisory body created to suggest reforms for the country's ailing financial institutions. Tira Wannemethee, Morgan's head of investment banking in Thailand, will represent the firm on the agency. (The Nation)

Merrill chief cites Morgan as a top private-client competitor
In a Financial Times interview, David Komanksy, Merrill Lynch's chief executive, commented on the international private-client market, where he said Merrill had a building effort ahead: "Citibank, J.P. Morgan, and the Swiss banks, in certain parts of the world, have a clear significant lead on us right now." (16)


Monday, September 29:

Morgan financial sponsors group targets Europe
A U.K. financial column profiled J.P. Morgan's efforts to expand its financial sponsors business in Europe and worldwide. Michael Lobdell, head of Morgan's financial sponsors group, noted, "There may actually be better opportunities in this field in Europe than in the U.S." He emphasized Morgan's one-stop capabilities in debt finance and research. (London Financial News 5)


Friday, September 26:

Morgan tops Euromoney poll
For the second straight year, J.P. Morgan topped Euromoney's annual borrowers' poll as the overall favorite for capital raising and liability management. "J.P. Morgan provides the best service in bond syndication, private placements, and risk management," the article noted. Morgan was also voted by peer institutions as the "most consistently innovative" Eurobond house and was cited for its leadership in Latin American equities and syndicated loans. (167)

Separately, Morgan's Adam Howard was named in Euromoney's roster of "top dealmakers in Asia." The article cited Morgan's role in key transactions for Telekom Malaysia, Bangkok Bank, and China Light & Power. (58)

Morgan ranked third in Euromoney "Deals of 1997" poll
J.P. Morgan ranked third in Euromoney's selection of the "Fifty Best Deals of 1997." The feature noted J.P. Morgan's role in outstanding transactions for the Republic of Argentina ($2 billion global bond), the Federative Republic of Brazil ($3 billion global bond), GMAC ($1 billion global bond), the Russian Federation ($2 billion Euro/144A bond), the Republic of Austria (5 billion-French franc parallel bond), Norfolk Southern ($4.3 billion bond), Siemens (parallel bond), and PacifiCorp (Stg4.5 billion syndicated loan). Euromoney also cited Morgan and Merrill Lynch for one of 1997's worst-performing issues, a $1 billion global bond for Bayerische Landesbank. (181)


Thursday, September 25:

Travelers-Salomon merger may spur more Wall Street M&A activity
Several articles on the merger between Travelers and Salomon noted that J.P. Morgan, among other financial services firms, is positioned for similar merger activity. The Wall Street Journal noted that Morgan reiterated its intention to maintain its current business plan. (Wall Street Journal C1; Wall Street Journal Europe 13; Financial Times 14; New York Times A1, D1)

Morgan's leadership on IntraLinks profiled
J.P. Morgan's loan syndications team organized a discussion entitled "Investors, Issuers, and the Internet," which included a demonstration of IntraLinks, an internet-based application used to distribute loan syndication documents electronically. Over 250 investors and issuers attended. Mary Watkins, head of J.P. Morgan's loan syndications department, said to attendees, "After using IntraLinks, even the most paper-loving of you will find yourselves pointing and clicking your way through syndicated loan documents." (American Banker 10)

Morgan moving Belgian bond team to London
As announced in June, J.P. Morgan will move its Belgian government bond trading team from Brussels to London due to deregulation. None of Morgan's other Brussels-based businesses will move. Belgian regulators recently lifted a requirement that firms certified as primary bond dealers conduct their government bond trading in the nation. Deutsche Bank will conduct a similar move. (Dow Jones)

Morgan analyst lives "50 steps" from work
An article on the growth of residential housing in New York's financial district quoted Paul Polichino of J.P. Morgan's management services group. He is one of the first tenants of 45 Wall St., a new apartment complex in the former Atlantic Mutual building, just down the street from Morgan's 60 Wall St. headquarters. Polichino called his commute "about 50 steps. It takes a minute or two, depending on how long I have to wait for the elevator." (Financial Times 6)


Wednesday, September 24:

Web-based tool to augment traditional roadshows
Net Roadshow, an Atlanta-based company, is offering a web-based financial roadshow tool to augment physical roadshows. J.P. Morgan investment banker Clark Spurrier said, "The value of having a roadshow on the Internet is that it gives investors an advance look at the company, and allows them to decide whether to look into the company in more detail." (Wired)


Monday, September 22:

Morgan leads two top real-estate deals of the year
J.P. Morgan's sole underwriting of a $1.5 billion credit for Sam Zell's Equity Office Properties Trust will be the largest-ever bank facility for a real-estate company, according to Morgan's Michael Errichetti. Morgan has fostered a long relationship with the Chicago real-estate investment trust, which has announced plans to acquire Beacon Properties. (Real Estate Finance & Investment 2)

Separately, Real Estate Finance & Investment noted that Security Capital Group's successful $630 million initial public offering, lead managed by Morgan, was second only to Boston Properties' $785 million IPO among 1997 real-estate IPOs. Jon Zehner, Morgan's head of real-estate investment banking, described Security Capital as "a service company that happens to be in the real-estate business." (4)

Morgan web site praised by Corporate Finance
J.P. Morgan's internet page was named "Website of the Month" by Corporate Finance magazine, which praised Morgan's EMU Calculator, Value-at-Risk model, and bond index. (17)


Sunday, September 21:

Lower minimums for Pierpont funds
Commenting on the new lower thresholds for investing in J.P. Morgan's Pierpont funds, George Gatch of Morgan's Asset Management unit, said "The lower minimums will broaden the marketplace for the JPM Pierpont funds and extend their availability." (New York Times Section 3, 7)


Saturday, September 20:

Barron's columnist compares BT and Morgan
In his column "The Trader," equity-market reporter Andrew Bary discussed the run-up in Bankers Trust shares last week, spurred by unconfirmed rumors that BT could be a takeover target. Comparing BT's banking franchise to that of J.P. Morgan, Bary wrote: "Morgan, a longtime rival of Bankers Trust, has a far better franchise, the best name in banking, a sterling reputation, and a stock that has underperformed its peers in recent years." (Barron's MW3)

Morgan's van Raay explains ADRs for new investors
The television program Bloomberg Personal reported on American depositary receipts, explaining their advantages for investors looking to expand their global portfolio. The program featured J.P. Morgan's Eduard van Raay, who said that with ADRs, investors new to foreign equities "don't have to hop on a plane and go to Tokyo [to] buy Sony. You can actually call your broker ... anywhere in the United States and buy the Sony ADR." (Bloomberg TV)


Friday, September 19:

Zell mandate shows Morgan's growth in REIT finance
J.P. Morgan's push into financing for real-estate investment trusts was boosted by its role in Equity Office Property Trust's "blockbuster" acquisition of Beacon Properties Corp., announced this week. Morgan is both acquisition advisor to Equity Office, run by real-estate mogul Sam Zell, and sole leader on a $1.5 billion short-term line of credit backing the acquisition. (American Banker 7)


Thursday, September 18:

Morgan makes presence felt in bank M&A
The American Banker profiled J.P. Morgan as a leading institution in advising commercial banks, citing the firm's recent momentum. Pointing to the NationsBank's acquisition of Barnett, the article says J.P. Morgan made its presence felt in turf traditionally dominated by long-standing Wall Street investment banks. Morgan's Edward Kelly and Gail Rogers were interviewed. (26)


Wednesday, September 17:

Euroclear seeks real-time processing
J.P. Morgan's Euroclear is working with IBM subsidiary Cimad to convert securities clearing into a real-time function by mid-1998. (L'Echo)


Monday, September 15:

Survey names Morgan top bank for EM debt and research
In an Emerging Markets Investor magazine survey of 1,500 dedicated emerging markets investors, J.P. Morgan was voted best bank for debt research and best bank for debt issues. (AP-Dow Jones)

Morgan to lead FrontierVision private placement
Rural cable company FrontierVision Holdings is expected to sell $100 million in 10-year senior discount notes in a 144A private placement through lead underwriter J.P. Morgan. (Reuters)

Morgan, NEON sign contract for real-time data product
New Era of Networks Inc. signed a contract with J.P. Morgan to develop a technology called Event Explode Service, which will enable real-time integration of financial data across business units, product lines, and customers. (Dow Jones)


Friday, September 12:

Morgan cited as best-practices firm for working moms
Working Mother magazine named J.P. Morgan as one of the 100 best companies for working mothers in the United States. Commenting on the citation on the CNBC television program Bull Session, Barbara Hack of Morgan's Human Resources group said, "We're trying to be as innovative as we possibly can be to respond to employee initiatives, to make sure we have the best practices in place, that we attract people, retain them, and make them as productive as they can be."

Morgan index helps time Brady bond exchanges
A profile on the recent use of Brady bond exchanges by six countries cited J.P. Morgan's Emerging Markets debt index as the benchmark by which to judge market readiness for the exchanges. (Wall Street Journal Europe 24)


Tuesday, September 9:

Schwab and Morgan announce agreement
Charles Schwab & Co. announced an agreement with three top Wall Street firms to provide Schwab customers access to equity underwritings. The firms are J.P. Morgan, Credit Swiss First Boston, and Hambrecht & Quist. The agreements give the Wall Street firms access to a greater array of retail investors for distribution of equity underwritings. (Wall Street Journal C1, Financial Times 19, New York Times D1, USA Today B1)

Web survey says only "the Morgans" have worthwhile home pages
A Treasury & Risk Management survey of Wall Street firms' websites ranked the home pages of Morgan Stanley (three stars) and J.P. Morgan (two and one-half stars) highest. J.P. Morgan's site was cited for its "impressive array of indices." No other firm's site was given stars; the other surveyed home pages, from such firms as Goldman Sachs and Salomon Brothers, were called "deadly dull." (65)


Wednesday, September 3:

Morgan benefits from corp. restructuring wave in Germany
A Financial Times commentary on corporate restructuring in Germany cited J.P. Morgan among leading strategic advisors in Germany. Discussing Krupp Hoesch's aborted takeover of Thyssen, Claus Löwe, head of Morgan's Frankfurt office, said the "concept of the takeover has now been firmly introduced to Germany. I'm absolutely sure there will be other examples." He called corporate restructuring "an incredibly competitive market" for firms in Germany. (15)

Financial sponsors a growing client base for Morgan
The American Banker profiled Morgan's financial sponsors group, noting the firm's success with a relatively new client base. Mike Lobdell, head of the group, acknowledged that several firms had "been doing this for a lot longer than we have," but the article quoted several financial sponsors who expressed enthusiasm with Morgan's work to date, despite the firm's recent entry into the business. (1)


Tuesday, September 2:

FASB's U.S. derivatives-accounting rules drawing fire
The Financial Accounting Standards Board's draft of U.S. standards for derivatives accounting are drawing fire from banks, corporations, and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. J.P. Morgan was among several financial firms that expressed concern about the impact the rules would have on firms' ability to manage risk; the firms say the board should have delayed issuing its proposal. (New York Times D1)



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