Canada’s big bank-owned dealers recaptured their lost ground in institutional fixed-income trading last year, as foreign rivals have been retreating, says Greenwich Associates.

In a new report, Greenwich says that a group of aggressive firms — including both smaller domestic banks such as Desjardins Securities and Laurentian Bank, and a set of foreign dealers — took market share from Canada’s leading fixed-income dealers in 2011-21012. However, over the past 12 months, it says the big firms have retaken that lost share.

The big six bank-owned dealers increased their aggregate share of institutional fixed-income trading volume to about 62%, from approximately 51% the year before, Greenwich says. “Those gains did not occur at the expense of other Canadian dealers, however. The combined market share of Desjardins Securities and Laurentian Bank was roughly stable from year to year as they continued building out their presence across Canada,” it says. “Rather, the big domestic firms captured market share from foreign rivals who were cutting back on commitments to the Canadian market in the face of new capital reserve requirements.”

Indeed, the big banks remain the dominant dealers in institutional fixed income, it says. RBC Capital Markets leads the way with a market share of 15.5%, followed by Scotiabank and BMO Capital Markets in a tie for second at 12.1%-12.8%, TD Securities at 11.3%, trailed by CIBC and National Bank Financial.

In terms of qualitative assessments from institutional clients, RBC Capital Markets is the leader in both Canadian fixed income sales and trading, and BMO is rated tops in research.

“Last year was a wake-up call for Canada’s major dealers,” says Greenwich Associates consultant, Peter Kane. “They saw that competitors were finding success in part due to strength in e-trading, and they responded by upgrading their own capabilities in the electronic offering. These investments have helped them defend and recapture market share from foreign dealers—some of which are attempting to maintain or even grow their presence in Canadian fixed income through the electronic channel.”