A look around the top investment banking players in Europe in the current climate quickly confirms the difficulties most have faced since the middle of 2007. An analysis of the individual performance of those banks is inevitably a kind of referendum on their performance in the face of the credit crunch, although they do not operate on a level playing field, and the impact the crisis has had has been determined – at least to some extent – by the country in which the bank operates. An air of optimism pervades the UK, despite its housing market...Read more
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Despite the inclement financial climate, the UK banking sector reckons it can still make hay. With focused strategies, the country's major banks all remain committed to their business mix, and are convinced they will see out the crisis and emerge with relatively stronger market positions. David Cox reports.
The credit crunch has played out in different ways at the two Swiss banking giants. UBS has been damaged significantly; Credit Suisse has emerged stronger relative to its local and international peers. When it comes to capital markets business, however, the distinction is less obvious. CS has certainly strengthened its position but UBS has not fallen behind as some might have expected. Matthew Davies reports.
After a half-decade under siege by international bulge-bracket competitors, Russia’s local investment banks are finally fighting back - and scoring hits, reports Benjamin Seeder.
In capital markets terms, there is only one major player in Germany. Deutsche Bank’s position of dominance looks set to be confirmed by the takeover of Dresdner Bank by Commerzbank: it will create a large domestic retail and corporate banking competitor, but one that will pull back from riskier investment banking businesses. Mark Baker reports.
If the worst banking crisis in recent memory and the biggest trading scandal in France’s history were not enough to force consolidation among the country’s investment banks, then it is hard to imagine what will, writes David Rothnie.
In countries with economies that rely particularly heavily on the financial services sector, the credit crunch was always going prove especially challenging. But the pain has not been evenly distributed, and those with a focus on the domestic market have faired admirably well, reports Savita Iyer-Ahrestani.
With one of the highest exposures to the real estate sector and a large proportion of wholesale funding derived from the securitisation market, Spain is being hard hit by the credit crisis. However its largest banks look well set to weather the storm. William Thornhill reports.
While Nordic banks have well diversified business lines in retail and corporate lending, as well as capital markets throughout the Nordic region, their relatively minor presence in the global financial system has helped partially shield them from the ongoing credit crunch. Savita Iyer-Ahrestani reports.
Structural weakness in the Italian economy has left the country at the cusp of recession. With the global credit crisis now adding to Italy’s economic woes, investment banks see no immediate respite in the domestic capital market and are expanding overseas to shore up revenues. Han-Nee Tay reports.