After Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008, hedge funds that used the investment bank’s prime brokerage services found some of their assets trapped in the firm’s European bankruptcy process.

In addition, the survival of investment banks with prime brokerage businesses like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs was, for a time, in doubt. Both firms adopted US bank holding company charters as part of their efforts to remain afloat.

A survey released on July 1 by Global Custodian underlined the dramatic weakening of the prime brokerage “duopoly” previously enjoyed by Morgan Stanley and Goldman.

The magazine highlighted Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan – which absorbed Bear Stearns’ prime brokerage business earlier last year – as beneficiaries, along with Barclays Capital, BNP Paribas and Pershing, which is owned by Bank of New York Mellon.

The top rankings in the survey went to Credit Suisse, Deutsche, Citigroup and JPMorgan, with Barclays Capital, Bank or America, Goldman and Morgan Stanley in the next four slots.

In March, Sanford Bernstein reckoned “the prime brokerage market of tomorrow” would feature the following top 10 banks, in approximately this order: JPMorgan; Goldman; UBS; Morgan Stanley; Deutsche; BNP Paribas; Credit Suisse; Bank of America; Barclays; and Citigroup.

• Global Custodian survey

23 Apr 2009 -

Suisse credit

23 Feb 2009 -

Shadow boxing

25 Sep 2008 -

Sort it out

19 Sep 2008 -

Primed for attack

1 Oct 2007 -

Prime time