Turbulence of the type experienced in financial markets in the last 12 months has a habit of turning things on their head. Banks have needed an iron grip to hold on to their rankings in the capital markets businesses they participate in. In the first half of 2009, reputation has counted for little: there has arguably never been a better time for smaller and medium sized players in any business to make a play for the big time. In several asset classes, key established players, with bigger problem

Eastern European and African Eurobond issuance dried up dramatically in the first half of 2009. A mere ten deals printed in the region, raising a little over US$9bn. Only three of those deals came from outside the sovereign space. It is a quite dramatic decline since the same period in 2008, when 30 transactions worth more than US$20bn came to market. But that was a period dominated by hefty bank and corporate supply out of Russia. That supply has now almost completely disappeared. The Russian s

The structured equity market divided down geographical lines in 2009. The start of the year saw more rearrangement in the ranking of banks in Europe. The once dominant forces of Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan have played bit part roles in 2009 – despite JPM's 25% market share in straight equity. It is Morgan Stanley that now sits pretty at the head of the top table. It did the most deals and won greatest bookrunning credit. In the months of inactivity some banks cut equity-linked staff; others pers

Take a glance at the headline numbers for ECM in the first half of 2009 and you won't be surprised: the top names in the US, EMEA and Asia appear to be the same. Yet there has been a dramatic change in the make-up of the deal flow, while few firms are looking at a similar share of the fee pot as before. Europe has offered a particularly good opportunity for banks to make their mark as underwriting capacity was an important factor. JP Morgan finished 2008 with its reputation intact, turning its p

For many, the bond market was the last chance saloon to term out existing debt. Banks were either unwilling or unable to throw them a short-term lifeline. Previous short-term facilities had already been exhausted in many cases, while the cost of renewing facilities increased sharply – or had been withdrawn completely. This surge of supply was mirrored by a substantial increase in demand from cash-rich investors. Shrinking deposit rates, low government bond yields and volatility in global equitie

Global syndicated lending slumped in the first half of the year, with year-on-year volumes down by around 35%. With activity declining across all regions, the global syndicated loan market has not been this quiet since 1999. The first half figures show that even as market tone has improved as the year has progressed, volumes remain light at best. The depressed picture contrasts with a booming international bond market, where volumes have surged across the first half as corporates focused their e