LevFin Polls and Awards

Banks have long been telling their corporate clients that easy, cheap financing is available in the liquidity heavy syndicated loan market. But now that borrowers have submitted to temptation and are pushing to do fee-free amend and extends, they must wish they'd kept their mouths shut.

With competition to win EMEA loans mandates heating up, lenders are making ever more aggressive pitches. But a surprising section of the market has stepped up to save the banks from themselves.

With the Loan Market Association’s annual conference approaching on Thursday, bankers are taking an opportunity to review the last 12 months in the loans market. Although some optimistic predictions from last year’s conference have not been fulfilled, the loan market has developed to become a stronger and more relevant funding tool.

Bankers looking to sell exposure to peripheral European borrowers have long highlighted those companies’ international activity and revenue streams. Italy’s Snam presents a new challenge, since it is entirely domestic. The good news is that this doesn’t seem to matter.

On February 13, EuroWeek held its 10th annual syndicated loans and leveraged finance industry dinner and announced the winners of the loan awards 2012.

The loan market is groaning under the weight of ambitious lending banks hoping to participate at the very top level of transactions. But this surplus of senior lenders is symptomatic of a general overpopulation in the loan market that cannot last.

The poll is now open to decide the winners of EuroWeek’s annual Syndicated Loans & Leveraged Finance Awards.

Just over a week remains to submit your votes for EuroWeek’s syndicated loans and leveraged finance awards 2011. The poll will close at 6pm on December 1 — votes received after that time will not be counted.

For some of the categories in this year’s syndicated loans and leveraged finance awards poll, you are able to choose from a shortlist of banks derived from the top 10 bookrunners in that sector according to Dealogic.

The loan market in Europe, Middle East and Africa has improved in the last six months, but not nearly fast enough. The US and Asian markets are growing much more rapidly. Unfortunately for Europe’s loan bankers, this trend could well continue for the rest of 2010.

Only a short while ago, forward starts were viewed with disdain by much of the loan market — an instrument that many believed let borrowers get away with murder. But perceptions have changed as the instrument has been standardised to suit the needs of lenders as well as borrowers.