Iran Hostages: How the Bankers Did It

From three continents, the $12 billion deal that freed the hostages

A 5:15 a.m. last Tuesday, as the first rays of morning were beginning to light up midtown Manhattan, 25 tired, unshaven bankers in rumpled business suits stumbled wearily out of the Citicorp Center onto 53rd Street. "Whew," said one as he rubbed his eyes and ran his hands over the stubble on his face. "That's the most nerve-racking period I have ever spent." In cooperation with some 300 banks round the world, the moneymen had just completed the largest and most complex financial transaction...