In many ways it has been a fantastic 12 months for Germany. Some of the markets for which it is most renowned have witnessed an impressive return to form that almost constitutes “business as usual”. The Pfandbrief sector, the financial market most synonymous with Germany, has in some ways shrugged off memories of the credit crunch and looks to be in rude health. But closer inspection reveals the last two years have left scars. While the position of Pfandbriefe as a key funding tool for German co

Ever since the Deutsche mark made way for the euro, the Bundesbank has, according to observers, felt a little redundant. It once set interest rates and preserved the stability of the mark. Monetary union saw those functions transferred to the European Central Bank. However, the outcome of last year’s elections in Germany presented a splendid opportunity for the Bundesbank to address that void by orchestrating a coup to rearrange the country’s regulatory furniture in its favour. The election saw

Over the past decade Germany has moved from a relative backwater to Europe’s largest loan market. This reflects the evolution of German corporate funding from its roots as a bilateral dominated house bank system, to the active and sophisticated user of the capital markets it is today. This sophistication has enabled borrowers in Germany to navigate the sometimes treacherous conditions of the loan market over the past 18-months. In 2009 this delivered continued access to liquidity in very difficu

While it was not immune from the turmoil caused by the global financial crisis, the Pfandbrief market emerged relatively unscathed compared with many other asset classes. Its strong fundamentals and committed investor base served so well that recent issuance has even crept back into the realms of single-digit spreads. The market has developed strongly and strengthened its status as the quality leader, according to the Association of German Pfandbrief Banks (vdp), speaking at its annual press con

Since the financial crisis began, the German Landesbank sector has undergone a radical upheaval. Institutions that were once seen as bastions of safe regionally-based lending were shown to have succumbed to the same unhealthy divergence from their core mission as much of the rest of the banking sector. Huge bets were taken on high yielding but highly rated tranches of mortgage-backed securities that were too good to be true. That what were supposed to be ultra-traditional local firms were compli

In equity capital markets, Germany often disappoints. Volumes frequently track behind the UK and France. And in the past two years there has been another reason for frustration on the part of German bankers: the inherent caution of most companies and banks meant there was far less distressed in the Teutonic nations than seen across Europe. When recapitalisations dominated, there was little for German bankers to do. Yet the latter stages of 2009 and the start of 2010 have seen volumes rocket from

The past year has been a particularly active for Germany. It led the way in primary European auto ABS issuance, with a smattering of related lease receivable and warehouse deals. However, the once-vibrant CLO sector remains comatose. CLOs had provided vital wholesale funding for local banks to finance the corporate operations of Germany’s closely-held small-to-medium-sized enterprises – or Mittlelstand. There have been commendable efforts to reviatlise the market but more concrete help will be n

In the wake of the buyout boom most observers had predicated carnage in the big European LBO markets. Germany was poised to be among the biggest arenas for restructuring, simply because so many top of the market deals targeted German assets. While advisers have been busy, many of the deals expected to falter have instead soldiered on or found equity investors to keep debt investors afloat. Equity investors and well timed accessing of the bond market took Heidelberg Cement off the critical list.