IFR Awards

IFR Review of the Year 2010

Looking back at the past year, it would be easy to summarise the events of 2010 as the global financial crisis Part 1 – the one created by financial market professionals, sleepy regulators, institutional investors and artificially low interest rates – giving way seamlessly to potentially an equally pernicious, tumultuous and damaging global financial crisis Part 2, this time created by profligate, over-indebted European sovereign governments. There’s something very disturbing about the notion of governments going bust; it undermines the sense...Read more

Bank of the Year

Keep calm and carry on
The global financial crisis has radically changed the world of finance. Navigating those changes and avoiding the pitfalls of the post-crisis environment has been as challenging, certainly from a strategic standpoint, as dealing with the crisis itself. While many banks have risen to the challenge, one stood out above the crowd in 2010. Engineering a transformation from a prop trading-driven manufacturer and distributor of complex and illiquid risk to a client-driven flow and solutions house paid huge dividends for...

Bond House

Consolidation and beyond: Having integrated Lehman Brothers’ US bond operation in double-quick time in 2009, the challenge for Barclays Capital in 2010 was to build on this success. This it did admirably, not only making progress in the US but also enhancing its presence elsewhere. Barclays Capital is IFR’s Bond House of the Year.

Equity House

Providing certainty: It was a year fraught with execution risk in the equity capital markets and delivering for clients took both skill and nerve. It wasn’t always pretty, but for delivering in a way no other bank could, Goldman Sachs is IFR’s Equity House and Asia-Pacific Equity House of the Year.

Loan House

Home run: The combination of Bank of America’s balance sheet and Merrill Lynch’s investment-banking nous created a formidable newcomer in syndicated lending. The combined entity flexed its muscles by rapidly building its international business in 2010. For an aggressive and creative approach that values intellectual capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch is IFR’s Loan House of the Year.

Securitisation House

Leading from the front: JP Morgan has an unrivalled commitment to the securitisation market, built around its balance sheet and its relationships with clients. For its leading role across asset classes and jurisdictions, as an underwriter, an issuer, a trading house, an adviser and a buyer, JP Morgan is IFR’s EMEA and Global Securitisation House of the Year.

Derivatives House

Navigating the storm: The market normalisation that most had predicted for 2010 failed to pan out and another round of extreme volatility put many houses’ derivatives ambitions on hold. But a resilient and flexible business model allowed one bank to adjust to the new environment with relative ease. For avoiding many of the pitfalls and continuing to build its successful franchise while others struggled to tread water, Deutsche Bank is IFR’s Derivatives House and Commodity Derivatives House of the Year.

Restructuring Adviser

Rothschild’s full house: In 2010 Rothschild stood its ground as a consistently high-quality global adviser. It found technically innovative solutions to difficult restructuring situations while remaining a volume player, driving a host of deals to successful conclusions. Rothschild is IFR’s Restructuring Adviser and EMEA Restructuring Adviser of the Year.

Emerging Markets Bond House

World’s local EM bank: HSBC’s global reach has paid off handsomely in the emerging markets space in 2010, as its extensive local expertise has helped secure a huge amount of business. Middle East dominance combined with strong showings across Asia and Latin America to make HSBC IFR’s Emerging Markets Bond House of the Year.

Features

The future unfolds

The after-effects of the financial system’s near-death experience in 2008 will shape the banking sector for many years to come. As regulators overhaul the rules governing the industry, bankers are wrestling with their business models as they attempt to remain competitive amid the uncertainty. Yet clues are emerging as to the future shape of finance. Justin Pugsley and Matthew Davies report.

Power shift

London and New York, long the dual capitals of the financial world, have seen their primacy eroded over the years by the increasing activity and strategic importance of Asia. The global recession, which has been felt most acutely in the West, has knocked the confidence of the established centres. The old guard can no longer rest on their laurels, writes David Rothnie.

An honest day’s pay

Banker remuneration has proved a huge headache for politicians in the past 12 months. There is a fine line between maintaining the competitive edge for banks – and whole countries – while avoiding exacerbating the anger of the voting public. Bank chiefs are acutely aware of the political dilemma, and many are keen to resolve the matter in-house to ensure the response is proportional. David Rothnie reports.

A year of firsts

The global sovereign bond market has had a remarkable year, with new issuers, structures and currencies finding a welcome reception from investors starved of yield. And yet on the other side, bail-outs have highlighted how bad things get when sovereigns lose control of their funding. Nick Lord reports.

Cliff diving

How quickly perceptions change. Eighteen months ago the US$1trn of US loan debt scheduled to mature over the following five years terrified both the companies and bankers who have to refinance it, and investors who have to deal with the overhang. And yet, while more than US$1trn is still outstanding, investors are now fighting to get access to the loans – lured by the yields they provide. Christian Murray reports.

Forgive and forget

It is a truism of the financial markets that investors have short memories, and never shorter than in a bull market. The peerless liquidity for emerging market equity over the past six months has seen no end of landmarks in the Asian capital markets – and looks set to allow another interesting character to raise new funds. Chris Wright reports.

Going global

A series of long-awaited reforms in 2010, which introduced the Chinese renminbi to the international capital markets, have perhaps paved the way for the eventual liberalisation of the currency. The resulting rush of international interest in the offshore renminbi market highlights the immense scale of the opportunity. James Williams reports.

Laying the foundations

Turkey’s domestic bond market has developed slowly due to years of high inflation and punishing interest rates. But conditions are now ripening for the market to take off due to a benign macroeconomic picture and the development of a pool of buyers. Nick Lord reports.

Not so splendid isolation

A lively but often painful debate over whether the financial industry in Japan risks being left behind the rest of the world is gaining intensity. Some argue that its island mentality is seeing it drift further away from the rest of the world. Mia Stubbs reports.

Features

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