Awards for Excellence 2017
Investment bankers covering CEE breathed a sigh of relief last year as their market sprang back to life after two years in the doldrums. Eurobond sales from the region rose nearly 60% in the 12 months to March from a year earlier, according to Dealogic, while primary equity issuance more than trebled. The trend was less marked in M&A, which had proved more resilient during the regional downturn, but a 28% increase in transaction volumes was nonetheless welcome.
On the capital markets side, the main driver of the surge in volumes was the return of Russia. As oil prices and the rouble stabilized early last year, investors on the hunt for yield swallowed their qualms about sanctions and rediscovered an appetite for Russian risk. A trickle of Eurobond issuance that started in April had turned into a flood by the autumn as spreads compressed and underlying rates remained low.
Not everyone was able to take full advantage of this recovery. Even before the Ukraine crisis, many global banks were retreating from emerging markets in a bid to reduce risk and shore up balance sheets.