European banks rebuild for Australian infrastructure bonanza

European investment banks that reduced the headcount in their Australian advisory and financing teams in the aftermath of the global financial crisis are now rebuilding the teams, as they eye up an estimated A$90 billion (US$70 billion) worth of privatisations - generating $1 billion in fees - that will be up for grabs in the next three years.

Were it not for the shock weekend election result in Queensland, and the Labor-led opposition edging towards government on promises to take asset sales off the table, that figure would be A$40 billion larger.

"As we look at pan-Asia Pacific investment banking opportunities for the next 24 months or so, Australian infrastructure would be one of the very top areas of interest," Richard Satchwell, co-head of investment banking at Barclays Australia told Reuters.

With investors focused on countries possessing high credit ratings and transparent, independent legal systems, Australia is "very much at the heart of things," he said.

Barclays has added headcount and shifted the focus of some senior bankers to prepare for such deals.

Another UK bank with a much-diminished outpost in Australia is Royal Bank of Scotland. According to Reuters, RBS has created "a new three-man infrastructure and acquisition finance team."

French major Societe Generale is reportedly hiring for its Australian energy and resource lending business. "We have our energy and natural resources team in Australia and we have remained active over the years," a SocGen spokeswoman said.

European banks, however, still have far less firepower at their disposal, compared to the strongest investment banking teams in Australia.