David and Goliath

As the larger European and US banks are still struggling to offload debt estimated to be worth $150bn off their books, smaller local banks which have been less affected by the credit crisis, are stepping up their game. UK and US GPs are increasingly turning to domestic banks when looking to make foreign acquisitions. These banks have a competitive advantage over their international peers in terms of local knowledge and combined with a more aggressive pricing strategy debt, their offerings are increasingly appealing to international buyout houses