However, speak to any top Euromarket syndicate manager and they will say that all of the above have the potential, but that the leading contender is SBC Warburg. "SBC Warburg today is like CSFB in the 1980s," says a senior new issue trader.
Who has been responsible for the transformation of SBC Warburg from the laggard of the Big Three Swiss banks into the Swiss primary market leader? Within the bank there is total agreement that SBC itself was turned inside out (for the better) by O'Connor Associates, acquired in 1991, but that the renaissance of the fixed-income business was largely orchestrated by the "Two Steves" Stephen West and Steven Oristaglio.
The once mercurial West may have calmed down a little from his wildest days but he defies the view that the current generation of top Euromarketeers are dull, mono-syllabic bean-counters. Stories of West's exploits and love of fun...
