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Above all, however, suggests that a bank's worst problems often start in its own executive suites. The basic trouble with Continental was poor management that led to bad loans. Says David C. Gates, a New York City bank consultant: "Mismanagement caused Continental's problems, not deregulation. I think you had a corporate culture gone wild; they thought they could do no wrong."
— By Stephen Koepp.
Reported by Gisela Bolte/ Washington and J. Madeleine Nash/Chicago