European corporate bond issuance has had a rip-roaring year. The amount of debt issued has grown at a record pace, topping $2,000bn this week, according to Dealogic. Companies with top-notch credit ratings have circumvented their traditional lending banks and tapped investors directly. Demand remains robust: Italian electricity utility Enel kept up the pace on Friday with a €6.5bn issue. It could have raised more: investors placed orders totalling €28bn. One irony is that as corporate bond issuance has swelled, bank lending has slowed. Bond markets, furthermore, are open only to well-known names; small businesses still need banks. That raises the question: what do banks do?