Last year was a marquee year for equity capital markets (ECM), with global volumes hitting $1.3bn in 2021 — an all-time high, according to Refinitiv data. This includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) activity, which saw a 37% year-on-year increase in volumes.
It was also a “very pleasing year” for BNP Paribas’s performance, says Andreas Bernstorff, the bank’s EMEA head of ECM. The bank, historically strong in the debt capital markets, has been seeking to increase its ECM market share and become a leading player in the region. For Mr Bernstorff, the bank is well on track to achieve this goal. “We ended the year in sixth position in the region by deal volumes, and that’s up from eighth position in 2020 and 10th position the year before. We’re pleased with the direction of travel,” he says.
