Deutsche Bank
The German firm was lauded by end users this year for its innovation in structured credit, including a variety of long/short collateralized debt obligations, such as State Street Global's Diogenes and Halcyon's LSSU, and for providing liquidity. Competitors noted it boasts massive trading volumes, under the wing of Boaz Weinstein, head of global credit trading, and has strong client access and distribution.
Goldman Sachs
| Dan Sparks |
Goldman Sachs impressed the market with innovation in managed collateralized debt obligations of asset-backed securities, such as its levered super senior ABS Abacus deals led by structured products head Dan Sparks. Investors reported an enhanced focus on client service this year.
JPMorgan
Peers and end users gave JPMorgan the nod for strength across products, research and client service. An acknowledged heavyweight, led by North American credit trading head Eric Rosen, it also stood out as a leader in the dealer community on this year's credit-event protocols. It seems the firm's credit business has coped well given senior staff turnover this year. One competitor remarked, "They're like the Soviet Union and we're the U.S. We never underestimate their ability to regenerate."
Lehman Brothers
Peers nominated Lehman Brothers for leadership in creating the loan-only credit-default swap market and LCDS index, and clients praised the firm for its efforts explaining the benefits of new products. Investors noted the firm's in-house indices for products such as asset-backed securities influenced the creation of public indices this year.
Morgan Stanley
Last year's winner again was cited for its strength in corporate correlation and index tranche trading. Star U.S. index trader Colin Stewart was recognized by peers for Morgan Stanley's superior tranche trading. Peers also recognized Morgan Stanley as a strong competitor in bespoke collateralized debt obligation structuring.
