Different strokes: ECM in the new normal

Have traditional investment banking business models failed? Five years into the financial crisis, few legacy businesses are earning their cost of capital or escaping the ire of regulators, and in the absence of a big cyclical upswing, there is little to suggest that many will ever again. We take a look at three firms that have re-engineered the traditional investment bank model of institutional equities and equity capital markets, starting with UniCredit and its strategic alliance with Kepler Capital Markets.