As bank debt becomes harder to source and borrowers turn to new bond market structures, independent advisory banks such as Rothschild are seeing their role increase – or perhaps return to historical levels – as was shown in its role refinancing the debt for a UK port owner.
The global financial crisis caused many corporates to review their treasury operations, with a large number reducing banking partners and signing up to shared technology platforms. Such changes, combined with the introduction of new regulations, such as the Single European Payments Area, have left many banks rethinking their global transaction services.
Ongoing economic and regulatory uncertainty is playing to the advantage of established international financial centres, particularly London, which, despite the recent Libor scandal, has been named the most attractive financial centre in The Banker’s 2012 global asset management survey.