While 2012 and 2013 were not especially good years for global investment banking or capital markets generally, they were excellent years for privatization. The total worldwide value of privatizations in 2012, $189.37 billion (EUR145.66 billion) was the third highest on record and the highest total outside of the immediate post-Crisis period of 2009-10, when banks repurchased shares governments had acquired through rescues. The SEE region has actively taken part in this dynamism and is characterized by a diversity of opportunities closely tied to its history.