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Focuses on a pamphlet issued by one of New York investment banking houses that lets corporation executives pick out their favorite banker to handle their financing. Enumerates the alleged advantages of competitive bidding; Arguments made in the pamphlet for competitive bidding; comments on the contradiction between the arguments; Estimates of corporate issues revealed by the pamphlet; significance of competitive bidding.

This article reports that the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC) has recognized four Central New York economic-development organizations for their marketing materials developed to support their efforts to create job opportunities and increase the prosperity of their communities. The NYSEDC has 900 members, which include IDAs, Local Development Corporations, commercial and investment banks, underwriters, bond counsels, utilities, chambers of commerce, and private corporations. The organization's stated purpose is to promote the economic development of the state and its communities and to encourage sound practices in the conduct of regional and statewide development programs that enhance the professional-development skills of its members.

The article reveals the plan of Rotterdam, Netherlands-based Fortis Bank Nederland to open a full office in New York City by the second half of 2009. The move is intended to give the merchant bank better access to U.S. markets. It will continue to focus on energy, commodities and transportation, along with trading and trust businesses. The bank may also open further branches in other major U.S. cities and hubs across global times zones.

The article features George R. Bason, Jr., head of Davis Polk & Wardwell's mergers and acquisitions practice in New York City. His practice is devoted primarily to the merger, acquisition and joint venture areas, with a special focus on merchant banking. He has been involved in numerous and varied acquisition transactions. They include the proposed acquisition of Sallie Mae by an investor group, the acquisition of IPSCO by SSAB Svenskt Stal, Heinz's director election contest in 2006 and Gillette's acquisition by Procter & Gamble. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the New York City Bar Association.

This is the time of year when banks begin to think about switching the law firms they instruct. The transaction-intensive months up to the year-end are over, so the need to maintain relationships with favored firms recedes. At the same time, those intense months may have revealed shortcomings in the law firms a bank uses. Now is the time to review the selection procedure, with a view to putting a revised panel in place before the summer. Investment banks tend to have an informal group of firms that they rotate depending purely on price. The issuer is paying, either directly or indirectly, or the legal Fees are factored into the mandate. The pool of firms with the requisite expertise is small. The banks and firms know each other well. So price is the determining factor, although, increasingly, there is the question of whether a firm can offer both English and New York law expertise or has an office in the issuer's jurisdiction.