Presentations by other bank executives as the UBS investor conference didn't shed much new light on the activities of their employers. Phil Coffey, group executive, Westpac Institutional Bank, said that seven per cent of the bank's balance sheet was bridging lending a term that refers to loans taken out to finance takeover and often paid back within months. Recent examples include the $2.7 billion, nine month club loan provided as a bridge to fund Fosters takeover of Southcorp. Westpac was one of six banks that provided this loan.Coffey described the bank's approach to lending as, "using our balance sheet as a source of liquidity for clients".And in a reminder of the reducing margins within the institutional bank, Coffey noted that financing assets increased by 23 per cent over the last year, while financing revenues increased by only 11 per cent.Westpac may still be earning adequate fees from helping clients at the top end of town secure loans elsewhere. Coffey said Westpac estimated it was responsible for "23 per cent of deal flow into US private placement market (debt market) so far this year."