Can it really get any better than this?

It was only a few months ago that GlobalCapital asked more than 50 of the bond markets' most senior bankers where they thought the primary markets were headed in 2024 for our Review 2023|Outlook 2024 special report. This week, two of them joined us on the podcast to see which predictions had come true and what comes next for issuers and investors after what has been a stellar start to the year for bonds.

Fabianna Del Canto is MUFG's co-head of capital markets in the EMEA region. She has worked in syndication and origination for over 20 years and jointly runs the Japanese firm's business in the investment grade, structured, leveraged and emerging markets.

Andrew Menzies is Societe Generale's global head of debt capital markets. He has been at the French firm since 2003, working with clients across the Americas — during a stint in New York as the bank's head of DCM for the continent — the UK and Ireland, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

But as good as markets have been for issuers this year, there were two stark reminders that access to bond funding can never be taken for granted. Two issuers hooked their deals right in the middle of book building — Equinix and Raiffeisen Bank International. We examine both cases to see what went wrong.

We also look into why some of the most senior syndicate bankers in the Street are leaving their jobs and being replaced by more junior staff.