At the same time that the two banks were struggling to sell their deal to other banks, the market environment was changing.
Japan's big banks are already struggling with billions of dollars in bad loans.
Interest rates in Japan hit bottom more than a year ago as the country's central bank struggled to lift the economy out of recession.
At the time of his appointment, the bank was struggling to manage foreign exchange resources.
Recognition is coming slowly, though, as banks are clearly struggling to sell the assets they received at a fair price in the current market environment.
And the banks are struggling with negative forces over which they, and the government, have little or no control.
For clerical workers, however, banks must struggle right along with all the other service companies on Long Island.
The French central bank struggled vainly to lift the franc.
The bank has struggled recently with bad real estate loans reflecting the recession in the Washington area.
After the war, the bank struggled under the pressure of the government's changing credit restrictions and exchange controls.