The banks learn how to say no

July 01, 1997

Three years of declining margins have lenders scrambling for yield. They are turning to higher risk areas such as project finance and emerging markets. But the curse of high liquidity soon tracks them down and ruins the rates. Only by aggressive portfolio management and offering additional services can banks make money. Nigel Pavey reports.

Top 10 Euromarket loan arrangers 1996
*Rank*	*Bank*	*Country*	*Amount ($m)*	*No. of issues*	*Share (%)*
1	BZW	UK	31,819.30	114	8.89
2	Deutsche Morgan Grenfell	Germany	25,773.11	102	7.20
3	NatWest Markets	UK	24,980.45	117	6.98
4	Chase Manhattan Bank NA	US	24,587.45	138	6.87
5	Union Bank of Switzerland	Switzerland	17,862.86	113	4.99
6	ABN Amro	Netherlands	16.813.72	108	4.70
7	JP Morgan & Co	US	15,945.59	56	4.46
8	Citicorp	US	15,467.47	107	4.32
9	CSFB/Credit Suisse	Switzerland	12,583.83	51	3.52
10	Bank of America	US	12,091.59	57	3.38
Source: Capital DATA Loanware

The three-year boom in syndicated lending is proving more enduring that many market practitioners had anticipated.