Banks are not superfluous — just ask India

What are syndicate bankers good for? The Indian government decided last week that it didn’t have much use for them, when it launched a big sale in a state-owned oil company through a new one-day auction process, leaving those banks it had previously mandated unable to help during execution. That proved a poor decision. Not only could bankers have driven demand to the struggling transaction, they could also have encouraged the government to set a more realistic price.