Anne Lampe's own statement of support for her application explained the story as follows:

'The marketing of foreign currency loans and subsequent litigation by off-shore borrowers against major banls as their loan losses mounted has been aired in courts since 1988, with the banks vehemently denying that they were in any way negligent or incompetent in handling their borrowers' foreign currency loans exposure and transactions. The Pacific Paterneship/Westpac letters exploded one bank's defence.

'The letters showed mismanagement, staff incompetence and customer rip-offs on a large scale, involving millions of dollars of customer losses, illegal deal switching and secret commission taking on a big scale by dealers.

'The lawyers' findings in the letters were explosive, showing culpability of PPL as well as containing advice on how westpac could control the damage.

'It was to change the shape of foreign currency litigation, as well as focusing the attention of the Banking inquiry on th vexed question of who was to blame for the forex loan debacle.

Events

c. 1980 -

Career in journalism active

1991

Walkley Award (Print) - Best Coverage of a Current Story (Print), The Sydney Morning Herald - Fairfax

Sources used to compile this entry: Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (Australia) - records of the W.G. Walkley Awards, 1956 - 1999, 1956 - 1999, MLMSS 6898; Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (Australia); Australian Journalists' Association; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales; http://www.walkleys.com/winners/database.htm.