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Nicely structured
Deutsche Bank pushed issuers and investors alike with a mix of structuring nous and pricing perfection. The bank led two award-winning deals thanks to an approach to client solutions unmatched by its rivals. Along the way it also picked up a two-thirds increase in market share. Deutsche Bank is IFR’s Structured Equity House of the Year.
Surfing the right waves
In an unpredictable year and a market defined by feast and famine, some stood on the sidelines waiting for others to take the plunge. Thin issuance and small fees meant a healthy equity-linked business required consistent activity despite the choppy waters. BNP Paribas was there more often than any other, making it IFR’s EMEA Structured Equity House of the Year.
Synthetic fibre
In May 2016, the non-dilutive convertible bond, commonly known as a synthetic, was in serious trouble. Priced aggressively to be cheaper than straight debt, the structure had attracted blue-chip issuers to equity-linked, but after a flurry of deals in late 2015 and early 2016 investors were fatigued and deals struggled.
Rock-solid structure
One bank was an outlier this year by increasing structured equity activity even as market issuance fell. For taking leadership roles on ambitious fundraisings and tripling its market share, Goldman Sachs is IFR’s Americas Structured Equity House of the Year.
Spectrum of possibility
It’s not exactly obvious how a company can monetise something it doesn’t ever use. But Dish Network did just that with a US$3bn 10-year convertible bond underpinned by a part of its wireless broadcast spectrum.
Solving for success
As one of the most profitable investments in corporate history, any disposal of SoftBank’s Alibaba stake was always going to need careful structuring.
Rock-bottom interest rates, quantitative easing and negative yields have turned the fixed-income investor universe upside down. How do fund managers make sense of these changes and how are they positioning their portfolios in response?
2016 couldn’t have been much worse for equity capital markets bankers: big spikes in volatility, intermittent periods of market closure, pulled deals and a collapse in fees. How have they weathered the storm, and how will they carry their injuries into 2017?
Chinese banks and brokers are taking over the Asian investment banking league tables, as more mainland issuers and investors turn to the international markets. Global rivals need to rethink their approach.
Big banks have lost more than US$60bn in their corporate centres in the last four years. Some critics say the units can mask the true performance of business divisions.
The rise and rise of the passive fund is yet another result of the low interest rate environment. And a worrying one.
A long-term commitment to re-balancing the Chinese economy should make the M&A boom more sustainable. But worries about capital flight and the renminbi’s weakness may force the authorities to put a stop to the party.
Fintech start-ups have mostly played around the edges of investment banks’ core activities – but not for much longer. The global financial full-service model was already creaking, but an Uber-style disruption to front-office activity is no longer a distant threat.
A growing realisation that over-enthusiastic and uncoordinated banking regulation is damaging the real economy, combined with the shock election victory of Donald Trump, is likely to see the regulatory onslaught of the post-financial crisis period lessen in intensity, if not reverse course.
