The difficulties faced by many European banks to raise US dollars have crept into their relationships with corporate clients. A leading corporate banker explains how European chief financial officers have been making the best of the situation by tapping the US capital market instead. However, they need to wait for the right moment and should not forget about the additional compliance onus, says Heinz Hilger, head of corporate banking Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
European chief financial officers are beginning to feel the effects of US money market funds lowering their exposures to Europe. “We are beginning to see some strange changes in the documentation of credit facilities such as premium margins for US dollar draw downs or even complete limitations on US dollar availability,” says Hilger.
