Last year began and ended with news-making events. The uncertainty over war in Iraq in the new year gave way as the conflict came and went. The year ended on a sour note with the uncovering of widespread fraud at Parmalat – Europe’s Enron.
Neither impacted the capital markets with any vengeance. Rather, the driving force behind capital market activity in 2003 was historically low interest rates, driving credit issues. Investors in search of yield and issuers looking to lock in low rates kept activity at a brisk pace. Whereas 2002 had been less than inspiring for the corporate bond market, 2003 proved a bumper year, particularly for convertibles. Equities, on the other hand, remained lacklustre.
This year The Banker presents its deals of the year in two ways. First are the deals of the year by category, as in previous years; then these are followed by deals of the year by country, a new feature that identifies the single best investment bank deal in each country.
Runner up (Financial Institutions Group)
Honourable mentions (Financial Institutions Group)
