ABN AMRO
| Richard Whittle |
ABN AMRO's European business, led in London by Richard Whittle, has been singled out for driving innovation in credit constant proportion portfolio insurance and launching the first fully-rated structure. Its index-trading expertise has also built up a strong following. "It has made great strides into liquidity and two-way correlation trading," noted a rival trader.
Barclays Capital
| Heikki Monkkonen |
BarCap's emerging presence in synthetic structuring has been gaining ground under Heikki Monkkonen, managing director in London. Rival firms lauded the firm's in-depth research and foresight demonstrated by structures such as commodity-trigger swaps and notes that allow investors to express tailored views on iTraxx spreads. "They have a clear willingness to provide capital to get business done," said one end user.
Deutsche Bank
Established credit heavyweight Deutsche Bank has been singled out by peers and clients for its extensive product range and distribution channels, as well as for being a premier provider of single-name and index liquidity. Its synthetic structuring business, which is overseen by Nitin Prabhu, has this year continued to extend its investment-grade expertise to other forms of credit, including asset-backed securities and leveraged loans.
JPMorgan
Praised by investors for its ability to tailor managed synthetic structures precisely to individual requirements, JPMorgan has impressed with various long/short and principal protected deals. Known as a huge single-name liquidity provider, the firm has built on Guy America's well-regarded flow business and made inroads into loan credit-default swaps, total-return swaps on iTraxx and recovery-lock CDS. "[JPMorgan has] the capacity to quote, to take risk, to execute trades and to make money even when the market is quiet," said an investor in London.
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers has been gaining ground in the region and this summer scored a market first with the launch of its Bisson notes, managed equity tranches with a rating. "This is a smart deal and good on them for being the first to get this through," said a structurer at another U.S. house in London. Several noted the hire of big-hitter Raj Dhown from Deutsche Bank late last year brought extra focus to the firm's credit business. Market making for property derivatives and loan credit-default swaps has also stirred praise.
