One in three auctioned sell downs, where the mandate to sell a client’s shares is won by the bank offering the tightest discount, is unsuccessful, leaving banks holding company stock they had hoped to sell to investors. The bad news for banks is that such high-risk deals appear to be gaining in popularity.

According to an internal research note by Goldman Sachs, seen by Financial News, 30% of auctioned accelerated book builds over $50 million - or 41 deals - in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, failed between 2010 and 2014.