Seemingly, no one appears to have done so. Not even the chaps in the UK that voted for Brexit. But the panic it has created is evidence enough that this is only the beginning. I’m not a banker anymore but even I couldn’t step away from Bloomberg TV as markets around the world went in the red and experts lined up to give their two cents.
And behind the scenes, nothing appears the same anymore. An old friend of mine who is still working for one of the big banks told me that he was keen to adopt a wait-and-see approach to deals this week. Luckily for him, one of his biggest clients agreed.
That was until another issuer (with a rival bank, mind you) decided to press go on its own deal. At that point, my friend’s client blew a fuse, peppering him with calls about launching ASAP. The chap tried his best to explain the dynamics of the market to his client, but it was not to be and he was forced to open books the following day.
And when the client didn’t get the response he had hoped for, he berated my friend for launching the deal too early.
It’s not really a surprise that no one has a clue how anything is going to unfold. But for now at least, my banking friends have to cope with being damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.