11.   A few borrowers, which the banks had classified as healthy, have suddenly gone belly up, leaving the banks with unexpected bad loans.

12.   A combination of weak management, shrinking stock investments and loan shocks has left banks gasping for capital just as their borrowing costs surge.

13.   A combination of weak management, shrinking stock investments and loan shocks has left banks gasping for capital.

14.   A real estate collapse had left banks in terrible shape.

15.   A weakening currency has already inflated the cost of repaying foreign debts and left some banks pressed to raise money.

16.   A spate of bankruptcies earlier this year left Korean banks with billions of dollars worth of bad loans.

17.   A spate of bankruptcies, including the collapse of conglomerates Hanbo and Sammi, has left banks with billions of dollars in nonperforming loans.

18.   A shortfall of funds in the money market left banks with no option but to bid at a higher rate today.

19.   Abedi, noting that he had left the bank three years earlier, insisted he had done nothing wrong.

20.   After deciding to leave the bank, Bogdonoff persuaded the monarchy to hand over the reins of the trust fund to him instead of Merrill Lynch or Wells Fargo.