New perspective on the securities biz

So just how profound is the ongoing slump in real estate-related securities business? Well, new deal volumes have tumbled to 10-year lows, the Financial Times reports. In some cases, business is so paltry that there isn't enough volume to fill out a league table. Consider CDOs. Just six banks managed to field an offering. CDO sales were $6.4 billion, compared with $103.6 billion a year before, and things don't look to be getting better anytime soon. The article suggests that some bankers in this area were kept to get through the crisis; they likely will be let go now. That business is not coming back soon.  

For more:
- here's the article

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