The inaugural Corporate Finance loan markets survey, to be published in the December/January issue of CF, reveals that the majority of finance officers believe the fees and margins on their loans will level off over the next year, haven fallen sharply in 2004.
According to the survey, 59% of CFOs and treasurers predict that their loan fees will remain the same in 2005, with 30% saying they will decrease and 11% believing they will increase. This is in contrast to the 41% who said their fees fell in 2004. The difference is more marked in lending margins, where 53% say they fell in 2004 but only 36% predict they will fall in 2005.
Other findings of the survey include the average term of term loans (an even split between 1-3 years and 3-5 years) and the average tenor of revolving facilities (mostly 3-5 years).
The top banks for lending facilities are also revealed, with JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Citibank and HSBC winning the top spots. JPMorgan is generally believed to offer the best service for bilateral loans, while Citibank is considered the best for syndicated facilities. However, when the responses are calculated according to the number of number one votes received, Deutsche Bank and HSBC win out.