Boutique investment bank StormHarbour was created in 2009 with the intention of reviving a more tailored and less conflicted approach to serving clients. The idea is attracting a growing number of heavy hitters.

Citi's head of G-10 rates, risk treasury and finance, Andrew Morton, has pulled the previously disjointed business together since his appointment in 2008, and this cohesive approach has been rewarded with a clutch of happy clients and strong positionings in the rates league tables.

Revenues may be down but market share is up for Bank of America Merrill Lynch's corporate and investment banking division. This is giving its global co-head, Christian Meissner, cause for optimism going into 2012, despite the tough markets in Europe and Asia.

UniCredit's new management team faces a sizeable task particularly as the eurozone crisis threatens to suck in Italy and the bank's shareprice is sliding. However, the new CEO of the corporate and investment bank, Jean Pierre Mustier, is confident that UniCredit can do it. 

It is becoming more difficult to call four-year old Moelis & Co a boutique firm. Times are good for independent investment banks, but can this run of good business continue?

Armed with new capital, BTG Pactual has been busy deal-making this year under the direction of CEO Andre Esteves.

Scotia Capital provides its oil and gas clients with in-depth geophysical expertise, something that vice-chairman Adam Waterous believes is just as important as advice on the structuring of mergers and acquisitions.

Barclays Capital is most of the way through its audacious bid to transform its fixed-income prowess into an integrated investment banking offering. There are signs that the investment and effort are beginning to pay off in the equities business.

Credit Suisse's client-focused model may be vulnerable when client activity is down, but the bank believes that it will deliver over the cycle and is the right one for the business environment being shaped by regulators and policy-makers.

A poor showing in banking league tables, a third-quarter pre-tax loss of £1.4bn, the hangover of ABN Amro... To the uninitiated, it would seem that RBS is still in turmoil. However, as its global head of banking, deputy CEO of GBM and head of EMEA explains, a deeper analysis shows signs of recovery. Writer Geraldine Lambe