61.   All of this represents a remarkable turnaround from less than a decade ago, when most analysts had pegged Japanese banks as titans poised to rule the financial world.

62.   Almost uniformly, the Japanese banks have neglected the consumer.

63.   Brokerage shares such as Daiwa Securities Co. fell after a major Japanese bank said it will sell some of its stock holdings.

64.   But huge Japanese banks and European banks have stumbled.

65.   But it is generally known that Robertson has made major bets that the yen would continue to weaken and that Japanese bank stocks would fall.

66.   But it would fall far short of satisfying demands for full disclosure of the bad loan problem that has shaken worldwide confidence in Japanese banks.

67.   But Japanese banks are also being pushed to the wall by their own financial crisis, and any concessions to South Korea could aggravate their own problems.

68.   But Japanese banks are contracting, not expanding.

69.   But many lenders, particularly Japanese banks, are not permitted to hold junk bond debt.

70.   But they also do not want to risk starting a panic by sounding too urgent a warning on Japanese banks.