SHRUNK IN THE WASH

摘要

The number of European corporates using the loan market to meet the majority of their long-term funding needs has fallen since the financial crisis. While once proud lenders are being sidelined, they are still relevant. The financial crisis nearly caused the end for many of the banking names that pepper the high streets of Europe. Most survived in one shape or form, thanks to a bewildering array of bailouts, nationalisations, forced mergers, and radical rights issuances. Slowly, the worst of the financial crisis faded. Europe's debt crisis, which nearly spelled curtains for the continent's single currency, ebbed. Quietly, the banking sector reverted to type, regaining its strength, parcelling out loans to favoured corporates, and underwriting stock offerings.