Citigroup
This is the first year that Euromoney has not singled out one bank as the recipient of best global debt house, an accolade that Citigroup has received for the past few years.
Stripping away its high yield and enormous loan business, it is perhaps even more impressive that Citigroup comes out top in our new category of best global high-grade debt house. In the US, it has seen the most high-grade business of the past 12 months by a wide margin and also has the top market share for European high-grade debt, narrowly beating its nearest rival, Deutsche Bank.
“Some competitors have tried to categorize us simply as a big loan house which drives our capital markets business but it’s not the case,” says Charlie Berman, global head of public sector fixed-income origination at the bank. “The reality is we have a very strong platform across all high-grade products, currencies and markets. We aim to do well whatever the prevailing market conditions; it isn’t just about going for whatever transient product is popular at the time. One year might be great for corporates, another for FIG, but the game plan is to be consistent across all our client bases.”
Aside from its firm commitment to trading and research across all the high-grade product areas, Citi has certainly led a wide variety of primary deals across every sector and geography, from GM’s multi-tranche multi-currency $17.9 billion equivalent bond last June to the Republic of Korea’s $1 billion 10-year note, its second international bond ever, to DePfa’s first three-year covered bond in Europe this January.
Berman points out that with a global
bond franchise the size of Citi’s, it has to be good in every area of the high-grade business, when it is often competing with firms in each region that are a lot more focused on individual product areas.
He says: “There are ample examples of what can happen when you try to cherry pick business – eventually your franchise just dissipates. To have a business of this size that’s sustainable year in, year out we have to be almost all things to all men and it’s not easy. That’s why it’s intensely gratifying to get an award like this.”
This year there have been a lot of changes in global fixed-income management at the bank, with Marwan Marshi and Chad Leat becoming the new global co-heads of fixed-income capital markets, following Randy Barker and Geoff Coley’s promotions to fill the shoes of Tom Maheras, the former overall head of fixed income.
Subsequently, there has been a reshuffle of senior bankers as Citigroup attempts to further streamline the fixed-income business. “All the senior fixed-income management feel accountable for driving the business. We do not foster a mentality that I’m a cash person or I’m a derivative person but rather encourage a more holistic approach to our business,” says Berman. “Maintaining individual product excellence is not at all inconsistent with an integrated approach to serving our clients.”
