The death of global M&A activity is very much exaggerated, say Mark Shafir and Cary Kochman of Citi, which has advised on four of 2019's mega-deals.

Nomura's expertise in the SSA sector saw it play a key role in issuances by Iceland, Italy and Austria, to notable effect. 

Since emerging from RBS's investment banking business, NatWest Markets has become a major player in the FIG DCM space in the EMEA region and Canada. 

The Dubai-based MENA team at Morgan Stanley was well-placed to facilitate Saudi oil giant Aramco’s debut bond issue. 

As reverse yankees bounce back from 2018's dip, Deutsche Bank's EMEA investment grade credit team has been quick to get in on the action. 

Capital securities issuance declined in 2018 as investors sought refuge in safer instruments. But the turn of the year has seen a revival in appetite, and the team at HSBC has been one of the leading bookrunners.

In early 2019, the state of Israel conducted its largest ever international deal. Joint lead manager Barclays utilised its long-standing history in the country to help make the deal a success.

UK utility company Thames Water chose BNP Paribas Corporate and Institutional Banking to steer its positive incentive loan, the first such loan awarded to a UK business. By Edward Russell-Walling

Leveraged buyouts have a chequered history but JPMorgan – which acted in the mega-deals of Refinitiv and AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals – argues that both were reasonably structured and the market is different from a decade ago. Edward Russell-Walling reports.

Europe’s burgeoning reputation for fintech and open-source software is attracting the attention of US investors. This is where Jefferies comes in, as Edward Russell-Walling reports.