Daryo Jun 14, 2012:

guesswork and clues agreed, you can't be 100% sure until you know the whole story.
But I find enough clues to have my own "preferred scenario" [pun intended] about what's going on in this story.
I prefer "scenario" because it implies planning of steps/stages in the execution of a complex operation - as this deal looks like one. It sounds like a "one-off" financial construction.
"procedure" associates to "established procedure", i.e. a well-oiled routine. It seems to me self-contradictory to talk of a "one-off procedure".

Nikki Scott-Despaigne Jun 14, 2012:

Preferred is a nice option too of course. However, without more context, the choice between scenario, procedure, schema etc, well, it's pretty much guesswork.

Daryo Jun 14, 2012:

"schéma" - jamais trop simple "Le schéma privilégié" implies that all this deal is still at the planning stage, and that the favourite option (but not yet finally chosen) is doing the transactions in the proposed order.

"preferred" sounds too weak for "privilégié", but off my head I don't see a "stronger" option.

Also, they probably called it "schéma" because you literally need to draw a "schéma" on a piece of paper to understand it, otherwise "option" would be fine.

"preferred course of action" would be the same meaning, but scenario is shorter and better suited.

philgoddard Jun 14, 2012:

I agree It could also mean the chosen procedure or, as Bertrand suggests, the preferred procedure. The Xs and Ys also make it hard to understand.

Nikki Scott-Despaigne Jun 14, 2012:

Context Would need more content, but one possibility is the meaning of "the most likely scenario". Is that possible in your context? Howabout posting the sentence before and the one after?