The financial crisis led to a big drop in issuance of structured products in Germany, and total outstanding products have yet to get back to pre-crisis levels. But new business activity is strong and Germany remains the biggest structured products market in Europe, with total outstandings of more than €110bn.
In the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in late 2008, distributors went into safety-first mode and cut back their provider lists, but third-party distributors such as private banks are now expanding the number of providers to offer a wider range of products to their clients. As the market opens up again and as retail investors come back in, there is an opportunity to grab market share with the aim of keeping it over the long term.
