Following a drop for Deutsche Bank in the world investment bank rankings, U.S. banks now occupy the top five places in the list.
The benchmark ranking takes data related to revenue from market activity and more conventional investment banking practices to make up the list, and is compiled by industry specialist monitor Coalition.
Deutsche was leapfrogged by Morgan Stanley to mark the first time American banking institutions have monopolised the top rankings since Coalition started the coveted table five years ago. The rankings reveal how U.S. banks have dominated the investment banking sector since the global financial meltdown of 2007-2009.
Deutsche went through a harsh restructuring program last year as then CEO John Cryan opted to streamline the German lending firm. Until then, Deutsche had consistently ranked in the top three banks in the world.
After the reshuffle, according to Coalitions report, Deutsche fell behind the pack in key areas such as commodities trading, fixed income and currency exchange, not to mention equity capital markets. The bank had been a top earner in those fields but slid down the rankings until it eventually sat at sixth place by March this year.
“Deutsche could be forgiven for arguing that the results of the Coalition tests are a reflection of the huge streamlining process that has taken place in the last year,” said a spokesperson at CTI China Renaissance in an email to investors on Friday. “The restructuring is going to mean that clients will need time to adjust to the new policies. I’m sure the bank will be back bigger and better in 2017.”
Deutsche will take heart that they are still the best performing bank outside the U.S. and among the best overall in the euro zone, although many observers feel that the in-house fighting at the company has distracted traders from performing at their best levels.
Optimists insist that while fruit of the changes might take some time, the German bank is capable of recovering some of its prestige in the short term. However, a looming settlement of $15 billion to the US Department of Justice related to mis-sold mortgage bonds during the financial troubles of 2008 has battered Deutsche’s already flagging stock price, hitting prices for 8 percent in a short space of time.
Deutsche are not the only euro zone bank having problems. Credit Suisse have slipped from 7th place in the rankings to 8th after their own restructuring policy went into action earlier in the year.
