It comes in at seventh place for syndicated loans. Judged by core investment banking revenue instead of league tables, Goldman is still in first place, according to Dealogic’s revenue ranking for the year to July 31.
More importantly, perhaps, Goldman scores highly in terms of innovation and notable deals, too. One of its breakthrough products in the past 12 months was the pre-initial public offering (IPO) PIK (payment in kind) note, developed as an alternative to equity-linked structures for companies with short-term bridge financing needs before their IPOs. In terms of deals, the $300m hybrid offering that Goldman led for Dominion Resources opened the US hybrid market for non-financial issuers in 2006, and its $217m senior secured credit facility for Northeast Biofuels included the first bundled hedge for an ethanol producer providing downward price protection.
“The strengths that define us in the Americas are no different from the strengths that define us globally, namely integrating ideas, advice and capital,” says David Solomon, co-head of global investment banking. “We have a strong franchise covering corporations and financial institutions because we work very hard to service our clients.
“We have a connection with clients all over the world and our capital raising activity over the past nine months has been pretty robust. When M&A activity increases, it creates an additional flow of opportunities to serve clients beyond the traditional investment banking business,” says Mr Solomon. “Right now, the outlook is good and we want to do the best we can for our clients.”
