Jimmy Lee's Global Chase

In mid-1995, after making several acquisitions, Time Warner Inc. decided it needed to reduce its debt costs. Richard J. Bressler, the media giant's chief financial officer, went straight to James B. Lee Jr., head of global investment banking at what was then Chemical Banking Corp. Bressler had a difficult list of requirements. For starters, he wanted $8.3 billion, an unusually large chunk of change. And because of Time's prestige and size, he wanted below-market pricing. Recalls Bressler: "Without calling anyone back at his bank, Jimmy said, `We'll be able to deliver on that,' and he did."

Just another day's work for Jimmy Lee. His ability to pull together huge sums virtually overnight at aggressive prices helped make Chemical and then, after its 1996 merger, Chase Manhattan Corp. king of the $888 billion U.S. syndicated loan market. Along with most of the world's largest banks, Chase arranges loans and then parcels them out to other banks. As the nation's largest bank, with $336 billion in assets, Chase has a lot of clout in the market and can afford to commit more of its own money than most rivals. In 1996, it led $301 billion of deals in the U.S. to control an eye-popping 20% market share, according to Loan Pricing Corp/Gold Sheets, a newsletter that tracks commercial lending. Few have had such a hold on such a large market since Michael R. Milken dominated junk bonds in the 1980s.