Best global flow house:
Citi
| Also shortlisted: Deutsche Bank HSBC |
| View more 2014 awards |
The flow business – for so long the biggest driver of investment bank earnings – faces some of the toughest challenges, whichever asset class you look at.
Foreign exchange has its investigation into potential collaboration and price fixing, with FX dealers complaining that the information flow that has traditionally driven a lot of business is drying up, and volumes with it. That’s not to mention the likelihood that the biggest FX houses might face some very big fines.
Credit markets, which have always struggled to provide liquidity, are hamstrung more than ever by the inability of traditional bank dealers to carry the same levels of inventory as they used to.
In commodities, many banks have decided to retreat from the business because of the twin challenges of a changing regulatory environment and the increasing power of specialist commodity traders.
Equity markets have been on a good run, but the battleground is crowded. It’s a business that is relatively capital light and provides a good return on assets, but that means it is the one product line that no big bank has decided to pull back from.