Credit Suisse oversaw a combined rights issue, share placement, bond issue and loan renegotiation to rebuild client Thomas Cook from a near-default experience.

A sovereign bond issue by Rwanda took the capital markets into uncharted territory, but the syndicate team at BNP Paribas found investors keen to seize the opportunity to diversify their portfolios.

Growing risk appetite and low interest rates have ushered in a revival of the market for corporate hybrid bonds in Europe since the start of 2013, with Citi's new products team participating in many of the recent issues.

Acting quickly was vital for Deutsche Bank to enable its private equity client to lower its holdings in a leading electrical supplier without unleashing sustained pressure on the share price.

Flexibility was vital for global coordinator Goldman Sachs to enable ArcelorMittal to raise capital through a dual-tranche equity and convertibles issue while preserving the ownership status of the Mittal family.

As bank debt becomes harder to source and borrowers turn to new bond market structures, independent advisory banks such as Rothschild are seeing their role increase – or perhaps return to historical levels – as was shown in its role refinancing the debt for a UK port owner.

A boutique capital markets firm launched by ABN Amro alumni, Independent Debt Capital Markets, is using its niche expertise to enable mid-tier companies to access debt capital markets in new formats.

Nomura's debt capital markets team was an active bookrunner as market access for peripheral eurozone issuers was restored in the third quarter of 2012.

European banks have given up waiting for clarity on the final form of capital regulations, and began issuing new Tier 2 hybrid bonds to strengthen their capital structures. Asian high-net-worth individuals proved a fertile source of investment, and UBS was able to combine its Asian presence and private banking expertise to exploit the opportunity.

Windows for bond issuance were fleeting during the second quarter of 2012, but the Barclays public sector team opted to jump in with five tranches of debt on one day.