Now, the indictment of Eduardo Martinez Romero, an economist, has revealed the extent to which drug lords have become banking specialists and use the banks as middle men.

Some analysts and banking specialists say they agree with Mr. Greenspan.

Swiss banking specialists have questioned how France managed to obtain a blacklist of thousands of people suspected of evading taxes in undeclared accounts.

But with the deadline for proposals just a month away, some private housing experts and banking specialists are predicting problems.

But banking specialists say that cross-border deals are generally less attractive because they offer fewer opportunities to cut costs.

Some banking specialists predict that few commercial companies will ultimately choose to enter banking.

Assisted by Swiss banking specialists, Swisscontact facilitates SMEs' access to savings and loan opportunities by:

But banking specialists said they doubted the Royal Bank would make a purchase of that size at this time.

David Black, a banking specialist at personal finance researchers Defaqto, said: "It is all about profits again.

"People will pay more, but there will be a considerable lag," said Philip Evans, a banking specialist at the Boston Consulting Group.