ABN Amro may not have even close to the global market share that it would like, but it takes the award for most improved debt house for the progress it has made in the European bond markets over the past year.
It has sustained its strong position in European asset-backed issuance in 2003 as it did in 2002, particularly in euros, but it is in the vanilla debt markets that the most significant progress has been made. In May 2003, year on year, the Dutch bank was the second-largest bookrunner of euro-denominated debt by volume, up from sixth place last year. For European issuers in general, the bank came fourth over the same period, compared with eighth last year.
Piero Overmars, ABN Amro’s global head of financial markets, says this is a result of a focused effort to build up the debt business for a couple of years. Since the beginning of this year, he says, the creation of the financial markets business, integrating the loan business, debt capital markets and trading, structured credit, forex, rates and portfolio management, has particularly helped win market share.
“It was one of the key steps that we have taken. We have been trying to find the best solutions for our clients, rather than just looking at the products we want to sell,” Overmars says. The reorganization has also meant focusing on key clients. “We have fewer clients than we did two years ago but we are much closer to them and what they want and we are gaining market share as a result. The award is very important to us because it shows that people are recognizing what we are doing.”
There are other specific product areas where Overmars feels the bank has been particularly strong this year, including credit derivatives.
At the same time, there have been personnel shuffles and a string of hires in the past few months. “We’ve been very focused for the last 12 months on reorganizing the origination effort and making sure the right people were on the right accounts,” says Niall Cameron, global head of credit markets. Across the board, new talent has been recruited into the firm – from sterling credit markets to government bond trading and leveraged finance as well as sales and distribution.
“The idea is to train junior people and to bring in selected senior hires,” says Cameron. “The positive thing is that we have actually managed to integrate people from the outside very quickly and they’ve commented on what an entrepreneurial place it is to be.” He cites the example of Stuart Bell, who came from CSFB a couple of months ago to head ABN’s sterling credit business. “He was surprised at the scope for creativity here. Our recruitment drive is 90% in place now but we hope that this in itself will be a great marketing tool as it will help us to attract new talent.”
ABN Amro has a presence in the Asian bond, loan and derivatives market and has been pushing the business there since the end of the Asian crisis. Before becoming global head of financial markets in March 2002, Overmars had been based in Asia since 1999. The next step, he says, is the US. “We have always been a substantial loan and conduit player in the US, but we have decided to step up the investment there, so we hope that next year you’ll be talking about our success in the US market.”
