On a long view, little has outwardly changed in IB

摘要

Having been either on the road or running around over the past few weeks, I've spent the last few days happily ensconced in London. As we move inexorably towards the end of the year, I've spent a chunk of time reviewing the year's market stats and making some historical comparisons, trying to make sense of what's changed. It's been enlightening. If I'd spent the past decade in some remote wilderness and the first thing I'd done on returning to the fray was to have compared debt capital markets, equity capital markets or M&A league tables, there are two observations I'd make. First, that I'd be a sad individual in need of urgent therapy. Second, that little had happened in investment banking in the intervening period. And in so many ways - despite the severe stresses and strains of the global financial and eurozone sovereign crises and the capital and regulatory whirlwind that's hit the industry - you could argue that little has actually changed. I mean really.