ASX Bookbuild: NAB throws down the gauntlet

NAB is not afraid of a stoush: it has simultaneously thrown down the gauntlet to its rival commercial banks and also the big investment banks by being the first of the big four to offer ­clients direct access to ASX Bookbuild, via its online trading arm, nabtrade. The main benefit for retail ­investors is a more level playing field in getting access to IPOs and capital raisings. The ASX Bookbuild process has already got CMC, Open Markets and Bell ­Direct on board but nabtrade is the first of the bank-owned online trading platforms to sign up. The big prize for ASX Bookbuild will be if they sign up CommSec, used by the by CBA and Westpac, or else ANZ’s Etrade. ASX Bookbuild is not expecting to knock investment banks off their perch entirely any time soon but it’s a new player in what has at times been a lucrative area for the investment bankers. ASX Bookbuild has participated in nine capital raisings, most of them small but together they have raised $110m... via The Australian: (VIEW LINK)