Wilfred Finnegan

What a difference one rainmaker can make. In 1993, Chemical Bank Corp. investment-banking czar James B. Lee pitched Wilfred A. Finnegan, then an ace high-yield specialist at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp., on joining the bank to start a junk unit. At the time, Chemical was an also-ran in investment banking. Finnegan says he had serious misgivings about joining a commercial bank, but "Jimmie got me over the hump."

Now, four years and one huge merger later, the nation's largest bank is an emerging Wall Street powerhouse--thanks in part to the high-yield shop built by Finnegan, now 39. In this outrageously profitable business, Chase Manhattan Corp. ranks third behind DLJ and Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co., according to Securities Data Corp. In one dizzying deal-a-day streak in September, Chase led $1.5 billion in offerings--including a $175 million issue for Stena AB, a major Swedish shipbuilder. It was a record run for Chase--and a big week for the junk business.