The capital markets and investment banking industry is navigating its way through a difficult transformation period. One of the toughest challenges is restoring return on equity – the best indicator of whether this industry can sustainably deliver profits exceeding the cost of capital – which has not returned to the levels that banks enjoyed before the financial crisis.

Significant effort has been put into meeting regulatory deadlines and reducing costs, which has somewhat sidetracked senior management at investment banks from placing sufficient focus on improving core business capabilities and driving revenue growth. In a bearish environment with limited repricing opportunities, gaining market share is the only way forward to increase return on equity.