Deutsche Bank Retains Debt Capital Markets Lead
Deutsche Bank retained its position in 2013 as Europe’s leading debt capital markets (DCM) adviser for the fourth successive year, with its increased market share offsetting an overall dip in deal value according to preliminary figures from Dealogic.
Data from the investment banks platform shows that up to late December Deutsche Bank had worked on US$159.7bn of DCM issuance across a total of 670 deals since the start of 2013, giving the bank a 7.3% share of the European market against the 6.7% it took the previous year.
The other four banks making up the top five DCM houses in Europe last year were HSBC, BNP Paribas, Barclays and JP Morgan, with only BNP Paribas managing to follow Deutsche Bank in increasing overall deal value for the year.
The value of DCM issuance in Europe last year looks unlikely to surpass, or even equal, the total of US$2.23 trillion for 2012. In late December it had reached US$2.18 trillion, according to the Dealogic figures. In Deutsche Bank’s home market in Germany, issuance fell to its lowest level since 2001.
Despite the fall, Hakan Wohlin, global head of debt origination at Deutsche Bank, described 2013 as a ‘stonking’ year for the bank in Europe, due in part to improving sentiment in the region’s peripheral economies. “The savings pool in northern Europe, who had reduced their periphery exposure, has reversed flow to some extent as structural reform and fiscal stability has improved the periphery investment climate,” he added.
Investors returned to the southern European countries in search of yield during 2013, with debt issuance out of Portugal, Italy, Spain and Greece – as well as Ireland – increasing 50% to at least US$355bn, the highest volume since 2010.
The region’s high-yield markets also enjoyed a strong year. Volumes in Europe rose to a record US$122.6bn, according to Dealogic, with Deutsche Bank also crowned the go-to bank for junk-rated companies looking to raise debt.