A few noteworthy deals aside, European M&A activity is relatively subdued by historical standards relative to where we are in the current cycle. In the first quarter of this year, syndicated volumes were down 25% compared with the same point in 2017.

This is despite great swells of liquidity that simply aren’t getting soaked up elsewhere in the loan markets. Corporate investment is muted, too — refinancing made up over 70% of all market activity.