Southpaw: Firm friends: BNPP, HSBC lock-out rivals, look to future in equity capital markets

Europe’s established hierarchy of equity capital markets banks have spent months playing down the threat of universal rivals with strong balance sheets encroaching on their patch. But this week’s appointment by BNP Paribas of HSBC as lead bookrunner on its Eu4.3bn rights issue shows that they can no longer ignore the threat — and that the credit crunch winners are closing ranks against them.