The Banker's Investment Banking Awards, 2017

Nowadays, investment banking is often perceived as an all-American affair. As US bulge brackets gain market share around the world, many others are portrayed as pulling back from capital-intensive businesses. 

Yet The Banker’s Investment Banking Awards for 2017 reveal a much more nuanced landscape. While Bank of America Merrill Lynch deservedly collects top honours, a broad array of firms have stamped their authority over different asset classes and coverage areas. The independent advisers have been recognised in categories long-dominated by universal banks, and smaller players have picked up regional awards based on their pioneering work developing local markets. 

As always, the winners have been selected based on the innovation, client utility and market impact of their deals and advice between June 2016 and June 2017. League tables are not consulted. Among the 16 product, four coverage, six regional and four global categories are three new awards. They have been introduced to reflect the changing nature of investment banking. 

The trophy for fixed-income, currencies and commodities trading recognises markets divisions’ ability to embrace digitisation and adapt to the post-crisis regulatory framework. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) award reflects the fact that banks, in addition to their client work, have implemented some of the private sector’s most engaged and forward-thinking CSR policies. And the award for small and medium-sized enterprises acknowledges bankers’ efforts to help growth companies, many of which primarily rely on commercial loans, to achieve their potential by connecting them with investment banking products.  

Indeed, one of the dominant themes to emerge from this year’s research is disintermediation. There has been a huge number of impressive debuts in securitisation, international investment-grade debt and private placements, while derivatives houses are enhancing their electronic client portals to let clients play a bigger role in structuring deals. The internationalisation of asset classes is another theme. From landmark dollar-denominated schuldschein and term loan Bs in Asia, to panda bonds by European sovereigns and special purpose acquisition companies – or SPACs – in Africa, bankers are finding new ways to offer market-specific instruments to the wider world. 

At the heart of these awards, however, is banks’ ability to structure tailor-made solutions to meet clients’ – and regulators’ – changing needs. The technical expertise behind the political risk hedges, out-of-court restructures and hybrid financings carried out over the past 12 months is more impressive than ever. Ten years after the start of the financial crisis, it is clear that innovation in investment banking is alive and well. 

Most innovative investment bank

Winner: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Most innovative investment bank from North America

Winner: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

The achievements of this year’s most innovative investment bank defy claims that traditional bank models are under threat. The ‘not being everything to everyone’ mantra does not apply to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s (BAML’s) corporate and investment bank (CIB). It is a fully diversified CIB, sitting within a full-service bank, and has excelled across the full gamut of investment banking during The Banker’s awards period. 

Christian Meissner, head of global CIB at BAML, believes this set-up is a major driver of its recent success. “The universal banking business model is extremely powerful, and we are one of two or three of the prime exponents of that,” he says. “Clients have clearly rewarded the breadth of our product offering and platform across the world.” 

It is testament to the strides BAML has made in strengthening its advisory capabilities. Historically regarded as a financing-led firm, the CIB has transformed itself since the 2008/09 merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch to become a strategically oriented CIB built on long-term relationships.

“We’ve always been of the view that the mergers and acquisitions [M&A] business is the best measure of the strength of a relationship. To me, it indicates whether or not we have been successful in maximising opportunities for a client, beyond any product or deal,” says Mr Meissner. “And I think it’s fair to say that the past year has been a breakthrough for us in the M&A business.” 

Indeed, BAML was a lead adviser on some of the year’s most complex M&A deals, including Dell’s $67bn acquisition of EMC, Abbott Laboratories’ $30.7bn purchase of St Jude Medical, and Bayer’s $66bn combination with Monsanto – the biggest all-cash M&A deal ever. BAML also played a key role in financing these deals, demonstrating its ability to marry advisory and funding capabilities. 

Another driver of the CIB’s success is its strength in the US. This, says Mr Meissner, has been hugely valuable in allowing BAML to continue as a worldwide business while others have been forced to retrench from smaller markets. 

“Post-crisis, we have consistently taken the view that we want to be integrated, we want to be global, we want to be a leader and we are prepared to invest through the cycle,” he says. “We’ve grown market share in every region and part of the reason we’ve been able to do that is our high market share in the US. That’s really been the base of our expansion.” 

BAML’s latest marquee deals in its home market include the Verizon Device Payment ABS Programme – the US’s first public asset-backed securitisation of mobile phone contracts, which is expected to kick-start a new asset class – and a string of impressive private placements that cement its leadership in the area. 

At a time when many US and European CIBs have stepped back from Asia, BAML is staying put. “You can’t be a global leader if you don’t have a strong presence there,” says Mr Meissner. “I will concede that you won’t make the highest returns, but we look at it from the perspective of global connectivity, being relevant to our clients, and being in the middle of the big capital flows – for that, you have to be in Asia.” 

This commitment has seen the bank mandated on some of the region’s watershed transactions, including Postal Savings Bank of China’s $7.6bn initial public offering and Tencent’s circa $8.6bn acquisition of an 84.3% stake in Supercell from SoftBank. Its leadership in sustainable finance was on show in Bank of China’s $2.25bn and €500m multi-tranche green bond, the biggest ever and the first euro-denominated green bond from Asia (excluding Japan).

Highlights from other regions include the Peruvian government’s record-breaking tender-switch liability management exercise, and Teva’s $20.4bn-equivalent multi-currency bond to help fund its $40.5bn acquisition of Actavis’s Generics business. BAML’s consistent track record in smaller markets reflects the CIB’s stability – both in terms of its strategy and leadership team – over the past six years. Clients view BAML as a reliable partner, with whom they can plan for the future. 

For Mr Meissner, the value of this can’t be overestimated. “While in the trading business small changes can lead to quicker results, banking by definition is a long-term relationship business,” he says. “You measure progress in years, so we are proud of the fact that our strategy hasn’t changed for many years now.”

Most innovative independent investment bank 

Winner: Rothschild 

The pool of independent and boutique investment banks is growing exponentially. But in choosing the most innovative, judges found it impossible to overlook one of the oldest. “The size and scale of our business means that we have an unparalleled volume of transactional experience, a deep understanding of financial markets, and a network of specialists across the globe,” says Robert Leitao, head of global advisory at Rothschild & Co. “This provides us with a unique understanding and perspective into the markets and participants worldwide.”

Its restructuring work is particularly notable. Rothschild advised oil company EnQuest on its $2bn debt restructure, one of Europe’s most complex of late and which marks the first time retail notes have been included within a UK public limited company’s restructure. Another standout is Alpha Natural Resources’ $3.9bn restructure, a rare example of a coal company emerging from Chapter 11 on a consensual basis. 

In equity capital markets, Rothschild helped Biffa list on the London Stock Exchange via a £223m ($286.7m) initial public offering (IPO) in October 2016, which at the time was the biggest UK IPO since the Brexit referendum. In the US, it had a lead role on the impeccably timed IPO of insurer Athene. It floated on the New York Stock Exchange on December 8, exactly one month after the US presidential election, and so benefited from investors’ expectation of rising rates under the incoming administration. 

In the Middle East it advised on the sale by Kuwait’s Al Kharafi family of its 69% stake in Americana to Adeptio, which was the biggest M&A transaction ever in the Gulf region’s consumer sector. Rothschild was also instrumental in BC Partners and Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s acquisition of a €1.38bn majority stake in Israeli furniture maker Keter Plastic from its founders, the Sagol family. 

In debt capital markets, Rothschild helped Teva Pharmaceuticals raise the equivalent of $20.4bn across three currencies to help fund its $40.5bn acquisition of Actavis’s Generics business, and Germany’s Bayer on its landmark €4bn mandatory convertible notes issuance, the biggest equity-linked issuance by a European corporate. For Mr Leitao, other highlight mandates include Asahi’s circa €10bn of European beer acquisitions, and Boehringer Ingelheim’s €22.8bn asset swap with Sanofi.

Most innovative team 

Winner: Standard Chartered 

It has been a pivotal 12 months for China’s bond markets. It started in mid-2016 when Poland became the first sovereign outside of Asia to issue a panda bond (renminbi-denominated notes sold by foreign entities to Chinese investors). It was quickly followed by the International Monetary Fund adding the renminbi to its Special Drawing Right (SDR) basket, giving it reserve currency status. In addition, earlier in 2016, onshore bonds edged closer to inclusion in the world’s benchmark fixed-income indices, and to cap it off, early July saw the long-anticipated launch of the Bond Connect linking China and Hong Kong’s debt markets.

During and before this period, Standard Chartered’s Greater China debt capital markets team has cemented its reputation as a pioneer in the country’s expanding fixed-income universe. In September 2016 it advised on the first panda out of France, a CNY1bn ($150m) three-year deal by Veolia. This was the second ever corporate panda, and the first led by foreign banks. Two months later Standard Chartered helped National Bank of Canada price a CNY3.5bn panda bond, making it the first bank outside of Hong Kong to tap the market.

While the completion of transactions such as these make headlines, the less-visible, preparatory work done by Standard Chartered to get these deals across the line is just as important. There is no legal framework for panda bonds, so regulatory approval must be obtained on a case-by-case basis. The knowledge gleaned from these interactions with financial market authorities is invaluable in helping other issuers navigate the process. 

Panda bonds aside, shortly after the renminbi was added to the SDR, Standard Chartered issued the first commercial SDR bond to be settled in renminbi. This required the approval of People’s Bank of China, adding to Standard Chartered’s growing suite of licences that is allowing it to leverage China’s $9300bn interbank bond market. In the onshore market, it is authorised to operate as settlement agent, primary dealer, bond market maker and foreign exchange market maker for major currency pairs.

Most innovative investment bank for corporate social responsibility 

Winner: UBS 

Banks have been at the forefront of corporate and social responsibility (CSR) in recent years, implementing some of the private sector’s most engaged and forward-thinking CSR policies. Rather than addressing this topic as separate businesses, UBS – the inaugural winner of this category – has taken a holistic approach via its cross-divisional ‘UBS and Society’ platform. 

“This has allowed us to be coordinated across all of our activities, from sustainable and impact investing, philanthropy, environmental and human rights policies, to our community investment and managing our own environmental footprint,” says Andrea Orcel, president of UBS Investment Bank.

Its climate change policy is among the boldest, introducing stringent criteria for lending to the coal sector and committing to secure all its electricity from renewables by 2020. Last year it joined the RE100, a group encouraging the world’s most influential companies to use only renewable power. 

It has contributed to thought leadership in areas such as climate change’s disproportionate impact on the global middle class and the fact that water risk is lacking in most investment analysis. UBS has also contributed to an international stress-testing project that explored ways to measure the impact of drought on lending portfolios. 

Its CSR commitment is visible in the bank’s highest echelons. Chairman Axel Weber is a signatory to the European Financial Services Round Table’s statement in support of an ambitious response to climate change, while Sergio Ermotti is part of the CEO Climate Leaders’ alliance and Mr Orcel is actively involved in UBS’s community initiatives. This includes its ground-breaking sponsorship of the UK’s Bridge Academy, a school in London. The programme helps students prepare for the next stage of their lives and involves employees volunteering, management time and leadership support. 

Other community programmes see UBS support innovation in social investments via its work with not-for-profit organisations that help micro-entrepreneurs find funding, and its UBS Optimus Foundation provides financial backing to charities that work to place children in orphanages into family homes.

“We want to support sustainable investing for our private and institutional clients, be part of the innovation for driving global philanthropy, and the financial provider of choice for clients wishing to drive financial capital towards investments that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the transition to a low-carbon economy,” adds Mr Orcel.

Most innovative investment bank from Western Europe 

Winner: BNP Paribas 

In recent years, BNP Paribas has carved out a reputation as one of the world’s most forward-thinking investment banks. Its bold approach to sustainability and digitisation, combined with its ability to innovate solutions for its growing client base, were all on display throughout the awards period.  

“Our core strength lies in our balance and diversification, and our corporate and institutional bank [CIB] is well integrated into the rest of the bank,” says Yann Gérardin, global head of the bank’s CIB. “We have a balanced mix of multi-national corporate and institutional investor clients to whom we provide a combination of corporate banking, capital markets and post-trade services.” 

The French bank was a major sponsor of Ipreo Investor Access, a platform launched earlier in 2017 that allows bonds to be issued electronically, and led on the pilot deal issued via the platform. In terms of deal structures, it was a pioneer of the senior non-preferred (SNP) notes which European banks are now issuing to satisfy their obligations under the EU’s framework for Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities, otherwise known as MREL. The SNP market started in earnest in December 2016, but the first deal was actually sold by Danish mortgage provider Nykredit Realkredit in June of that year, a €500m issuance co-led by BNP Paribas.

Widely recognised for its fixed-income capabilities, the bank is pushing to grow its equity business and has brought to market some notable equity-linked deals recently. This includes a €225m bond and warrant by GN Store Nord – the first equity-linked deal out of Denmark in 20 years – and a €1.3bn offering and €250m buyback for Deutsche Wohnen. The latter is the first time a European issuer has simultaneously conducted a convertible bond sale, convertible bond buyback and accelerated bookbuilding. At home, it worked on France’s biggest accelerated bookbuilding in a decade and was joint global coordinator and bookrunner on X-FAB Silicon Foundries’ €426m initial public offering on Euronext Paris.  

In addition to winning this year’s awards for structured investor products and climate change and sustainability, judges were particularly impressed by the bank’s recent track record in equity derivatives and syndicated loans. It is also one of the few European investment banks making inroads in the US. According to data firm Coalition, it is among the two fastest growing CIBs (by revenue) in the Americas.

Most innovative investment bank from Latin America 

Winner: Bradesco BBI 

Bradesco BBI has been at the forefront of deals spurred by improved investor sentiment towards Brazil. It scoops this award for the second year in a row thanks to its leading role in bringing local companies back to the bond markets, its ability to tailor-make structured finance solutions to suit clients’ specific goals, and its support of the country’s equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) revival. Its markets division also had a stellar 2016, becoming the first bank outside of the US and Europe to make the global top 10 for trading income. 

“Our track record exemplifies the strength of our business model which focuses on understanding markets, products and clients in-depth, adopting an integrated holistic approach resulting in breakthrough innovative deals which generate unparalleled value to our clients, and being our clients’ trusted advisor working on every transaction they need,” says Bradesco BBI investment banking chief Leandro Miranda.

A standout transaction was the 150m reais ($48m) certificates of real estate receivables (CRIs) it crafted for fashion company Guararapes Confecções in 2016. The CRIs, which are a tax-exempt instrument for real estate collateralised debt obligations, are backed by intragroup rental agreements and mark Guararapes’ debut in the debt capital markets. Bradesco BBI structured the deal such that it lowered the issuer’s cost of funding and extended its debt maturity profile.  

Indeed, the Brazilian bank’s historical strength is fixed income, having made a name for itself as the only Latin American bank to frequently act as bookrunner for US issuers. During the awards period it was bookrunner and financial adviser on NCF’s 5.6bn reais debentures, which made use of a new collateralised instrument, that incorporated Tier 2 bonds to overcome the holding company’s lack of assets to offer as a guarantee. 

However its equities credentials have received a significant boost over the past 12 months, with the bank acting as lead-left bookrunner on a flurry of listings that revived Brazil’s market for initial public offerings (IPOs). These include car rental company Movida’s 600m reais IPO in February and state-controlled Sanepar’s re-IPO – the country’s second biggest equity offering of 2016 – following which the company’s shares’ performance improved 45.9%.

In terms of M&A mandates, Bradesco advised Ultrapar on its acquisition of Liquigás’s operations from Petrobras, and Odebrecht on the 70% sale of its water and sewage business to Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management. It also had a key role creating the joint venture between Bradesco’s insurance arm and Swiss Re to create a leading player in Brazil’s large-risk insurance market. 

Most innovative investment bank from Asia-Pacific 

Winner: Kotak Mahindra Bank 

It may lack the international presence of some other Asian lenders, but Kotak Mahindra Bank’s efforts in advancing the development of India’s equity, bond and financing markets make it a worthy winner of this category. Over the past 12 months it has consistently led on breakthrough transactions spanning Basel III-compliant bank capital, project financing and the burgeoning market for masala bonds (rupee-denominated notes sold to foreign investors).

“Our experience of working on landmark deals has helped us deliver superior value to clients. The list of our achievements is only increasing, and we would like to carry forward this momentum,” says Ramesh Srinivasan, managing director and CEO of Kotak Investment Banking.

Kotak’s work in the loan market is of particular note. It was a mandated lead arranger on Intas Pharmaceuticals’ acquisition of Allergan’s UK and Irish generics business, as part of the latter’s tie-up with Teva. A two-step solution was devised for the £603m ($771.3m) cash sale, which incorporated a repayment structure that gave the borrowers enough time to integrate the Allergan businesses. It was also mandated on Novelis’s $1.8bn term loan B facility, a rare example of the US loan structure appearing in Asia.  

Its project finance team has played a crucial role in tackling India’s electricity crisis. Kotak was behind a cleverly structured non-convertible debenture issuance for a transmission company forming part of the Sterlite Power group. The refinancing opened up a new investor base for the issuer, it freed up bank lines for new developments, and is a rare example of a project level borrowing with an attractive redemption profile. Kotak was also joint underwriter of a project loan to a Hero Group entity used to fund a 120-megawatt wind plant using state-of-the-art turbine technology.   

India’s financial sector was rocked by the central bank’s decision in November 2016 to scrap the 500 and 1000 rupee notes, but Kotak navigated the demonetisation well. It was financial adviser to France’s Ingenico on its acquisition of local firm TechProcess Payment Services, the first merger and acquisition deal in the digital payments space since the demonetisation. “Our understanding of India’s economic landscape enables us to offer meaningful insights to customers. This, coupled with our skill sets and ability to effortlessly handle large mandates across sectors, helps us offer a strong proposition to clients,” says Mr Srinivasan.

Most innovative investment bank from the Middle East 

Winner: First Abu Dhabi Bank 

The newest investment bank in the Middle East is also its best. Formed earlier this year by the merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and First Gulf Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has already stamped its authority on the investment banking market, and its credentials stretch far beyond its home turf.

Head of corporate finance Andy Cairns says its regional footprint is core to the bank’s client value proposition, whether leading deals from the region or bringing foreign names into the Middle East. “Our corporate finance strategy emphasises our home market dominance through which we seek also to be internationally relevant,” he adds. “Over the past 12 months, not only did we lead transactions for many of the Middle East and north Africa’s [MENA] top names but we also led benchmark deals for the likes of Hong Kong, Indonesia, China Construction Bank, Africa Finance Corp and State Bank of India.”

These include the first Basel III-compliant additional Tier 1 bond out of India and the world’s biggest Rule 144A/Reg S sukuk, a $3bn dual-tranche issuance by Indonesia which proves the depth and liquidity of the sharia-compliant investor base at a time many governments are mooting their first deal.  

FAB has led on a huge number of debut bonds, including the $2.5bn international issuance by the government of Oman, its inaugural benchmark deal and the biggest public debt raising by an Omani issuer. In March it was joint green structuring adviser and joint bookrunner on the first international sale of a green bond from MENA, a $587m issuance by the FAB group (then known as NBAD) itself. That same month it helped Qatar Reinsurance Company issue the Gulf insurance sector’s first perpetual bond and the country’s first international hybrid bond, a transaction that was 14 times oversubscribed. 

With a dedicated sharia board and a dedicated Islamic finance structuring team, it is no surprise that the bank was mandated in a variety of roles on Etihad Airways’ landmark sukuk wakalah in November 2016. This $1.5bn deal turned heads for many reasons, including its status as the biggest ever Reg S-only corporate sukuk, the highest rated note by an airline, and the Middle East’s first public privately placed transaction. Even more impressive is that Etihad achieved these feats in its first debt capital markets sale.

Most innovative investment bank from Africa 

Winner: Rand Merchant Bank 

More than any other region, Africa demands flexibility and outside-the-box thinking from its investment bankers. With countries at different stages of economic development, and financial markets at different levels of maturity, the mix of technical expertise, soft skills and local market knowledge changes drastically from deal to deal.  

This is something at which this year’s winner excels. “RMB’s business philosophy – traditional values, innovative ideas – is at the heart of everything we are and everything we do,” says Ngugi Kiuna, Rand Merchant Bank’s (RMB’s) head of investment banking in Africa. “We do not subscribe to business-as-usual practices [but] rather hard thinking that requires our smart and talented employees to stretch themselves, to push the boundaries, to think differently, to collaborate to unlock opportunity, to have an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to make a difference in the world.” 

Its highlight transactions during the awards period encompass everything from complex public company reorganisations to debut capital markets transactions, to tailor-made local currency deals.  

Judges were particularly impressed by its work in dismantling South African supermarket chain Pick n Pay’s so-called ‘listed pyramid structure’ and replacing it with an innovative B-share structure. The deal took years to put together, and simplifies Pick n Pay’s structure while maintaining the majority shareholder’s effective control. Mr Kiuna names the R1.8bn ($135m) initial public offering of Ethos Capital as another highlight. This was the first listed vehicle in sub-Saharan Africa to offer investors exposure to a diversified portfolio of unlisted, private equity-type investments. RMB has also spearheaded the advancement of special purpose acquisition companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

At the other end of the spectrum, RMB helped First National Bank of Botswana sell P201.8m ($20m) in subordinated bank debt, a rarity in the local market, which required RMB to spend a significant amount of time educating local asset managers on the asset class, paving the way for copycat deals. 

In the infrastructure space, RMB has been busy improving access to South Africa’s world-class green energy schemes. The Johannesburg-headquartered bank is also driving advancements in convertible bonds, which have a limited track record across the continent. Earlier this year it helped Royal Bafokeng Platinum issue a first-of-its kind R1.2bn convertible note that will ramp up production at its Styldrift mine in South Africa.

Most innovative investment bank for bonds 

Winner: Barclays 

Looking at a list of the year’s most eye-catching bond trades, Barclays’ name crops up more often than most. Teva’s $20.4bn-equivalent multi-currency financing for its acquisition of Allergan’s generics business, Abbott Laboratories’ $15bn senior secured deal and Shire’s $12.1bn bond market debut, to name just a few. 

But it is the UK bank’s ability to bring trickier deals to market that has clinched this award. “Barclays had another strong year in our bond business, staying close to our clients and helping them successfully navigate periods of uncertainty,” says Mark Lewellen, co-head of its debt capital markets (DCM) and risk solutions group. 

The surprise outcome of the UK’s referendum on EU membership is a case in point. Barclays brought to market the first post-Brexit sterling deal, a £500m ($643.3m) bond for British American Tobacco that launched one week after the June 2016 vote. In early August it helped Vodafone raise £1.8bn in 33-year and 40-year notes, the company’s first sterling bonds in seven years. 

Other notable trades include the world’s first green hybrid bond – a €1bn issuance by Dutch electricity firm TenneT, and a string of debuts including France’s Air Liquide ($4.5bn, its first dollar bond), Germany’s Uniper (€500m, its inaugural senior transaction) and the first bond sale by Coca-Cola European Partners following its three-way merger in 2015.    

The bank’s push in the US over recent years is clearly paying off. “Our strength of advice and flexibility for clients across currencies and products – especially our transatlantic axis – cemented our position and gives us a tremendous opportunity to further strengthen our franchise,” says Travis Barnes, the group’s other co-head, who is based in New York. 

Indeed, Barclays has been at the forefront of the reverse yankee market, winning mandates on Pfizer’s €4bn four-tranche deal in February and Abbvie’s €3.6bn euro debut. It also had a role on jumbo dollar deals by some of the US’s best known corporates, including Microsoft’s $16.9bn offering in January (which it co-led) and an $11bn trade by Verizon (its second biggest ever). 

Its regulatory capital expertise also deserves special mention. Barclays’ DCM team was an early leader in Basel III-compliant bonds, having worked on the Barclays group’s market-opening deals, and has since established itself as a go-to bank for structuring these complex trades. Earlier in 2017 it had a lead structuring role on the market’s first contractually senior non-preferred bond, a €1.5bn deal by Santander.

Most innovative investment bank for climate change and sustainability 

Winner: BNP Paribas 

Sustainability is one of BNP Paribas corporate and institutional banking’s (CIB’s) three pillars. And the work the bank is doing for its clients proves how serious it is in this field. For the second year in a row, the French bank picks up the trophy for one of the most competitive categories. The depth and variety of its work that incorporates different aspects of socially responsible investing (SRI) has given it an edge over its rivals.

“From sustainable capital markets innovations such as the World Bank’s first sustainable development goals bond in March, to landmark partnerships including our securities services division becoming the first custodian signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investing, we have made significant progress in advancing our sustainable finance and investing programme,” says Laurence Pessez, group head of corporate social responsibility at BNP Paribas.

BNP Paribas has underwritten more European green bonds than any other bank, is a leading financier of offshore wind and continues to push SRI principles into areas of finance. Earlier in 2017 it was joint bookrunner on a $139m green asset-backed securitisation (ABS) by Solar Mosaic – the issuer’s first ABS – and in 2016 it helped the state of Connecticut issue a social impact bond, the proceeds from which will help fund in-home treatment for parents dealing with substance abuse. It is also helping to establish France’s first social impact bond programme. Known as Contrats à Impact Social, or CIS, it channels private funds into projects that combat social exclusion.

BNP Paribas has also played its part as an issuer, selling its inaugural green bond (a €500m long five-year deal) late in 2016, and continues its ground-breaking work with the World Bank and other development finance institutions to create new asset classes. It was instrumental in the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC’s) $152m so-called ‘forest bond’ in October 2016, a first-of-a-kind deal that allows bondholders to receive their coupon in cash or carbon credits. Another unprecedented structure involving BNP Paribas and the IFC is a supply chain finance programme that integrates social and environmental criteria. Created for Puma, it incorporates a discounting mechanism that enables the sportswear company to encourage its suppliers to follow SRI principles.

The bank has a dedicated sustainable capital markets team, but SRI principles permeate the entire CIB. Management requires every coverage banker to be able to speak with their clients, be it corporates or institutional investors, about sustainability.

Most innovative investment bank for equity derivatives 

Winner: Natixis 

Over the awards period, Natixis’s structured products team has had great success, but its work developing new pay-offs via equity derivatives has been the highlight. This is consistent with the French investment bank’s decision to position itself as a solutions house rather than a flow house. 

“We are ‘big enough to deliver and small enough to care’, so every client is treated as unique, that’s the core of our approach,” says Eric Le Brusq, managing director and global head of equity derivatives. “Our strength is our people, we have set up strong and agile trading, sales & financial engineering teams who are capable of delivering high value investment solutions and reliable pre and after-sales servicing.”

A number of Natixis’s standout products are based on its CAC 60 proprietary index, an extension of the CAC 40 index of Paris-listed blue-chips. Another innovative product uses recently issued shares that are subject to a lock-up period as the underlying, and creates a structured return that allows investors to benefit from the lack of liquidity premium.

In its home market, Natixis has helped insurers satisfy new regulatory requirements that recognise a product as having capital protection only if that protection continues for 90% of its lifespan. It has created a new type of structured equity product that offers a minimum 90% buyback throughout the investment period, and an attractive potential return at maturity.

In 2016, Natixis took advantage of the widening spread between the Euro Stoxx 50 benchmark and dividend futures by creating a structured product indexed to dividend futures. Its equity derivatives work incorporating sustainability criteria is also of note. After noticing a gap in the market for a pro-climate underlying index that is suitable for retail-oriented structured products, it launched the COP5E Index. This tracks 50 low-carbon and low-volatility Euronext-listed stocks, and products based on the index have been snapped up by French investors during its first year.  

The bank’s equity derivatives offering is at the forefront of structured product’s digital revolution. The functionality of its online client portal E.MAP continues to grow and be rolled out to new regions. The bank has been pragmatic about expanding E.MAP’s offering, partnering with fintech firms to help with the significant IT developments. 

Natixis’s success in equity derivatives is filtering through to its financial results. In the final quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of this year, the division’s net income climbed 49% and 48%, respectively, year on year. 

Most innovative investment bank for equity-linked products 

Winner: Citi 

Citi has stamped its authority over global equity markets in recent years, including the equity-linked segment. Its standout mandates over the awards period come from each region and display genuine innovation and thought leadership. 

“We are extremely proud of our accomplishments over the past 18 months, which are a testament to our commitment to the equity capital markets, the experience and talent of our team, and the confidence that issuers and investors have in our firm’s ability to execute on their behalf,” says Tyler Dickson, Citi’s head of global capital markets origination. 

Some of Citi’s most innovative work was in central Europe. It devised a unique solution to help America Movil reduce its stake in Austria Telekom by €374m, which was a condition of its 2014 takeover of the Vienna-headquartered telecommunications company. Citi (plus another bank) acquired the shares on-exchange and subsequently issued a convertible bond to be settled with Austria Telekom shares. 

Another highlight was a liability management exercise for Czech electricity firm CEZ that allowed it to dispose of its 7% stake in Hungarian oil and gas company MOL. CEZ launched a tender offer for its outstanding exchangeable bonds, to be settled with MOL shares, and simultaneously conducted an accelerated equity offering of the underlying MOL shares.

Looking forward, Mr Dickson says Citi intends to continue leveraging its global reach to support its most important corporate, financial institution, financial sponsor and public sector issuer clients – and global investing clients – around the world: “We will stay on top of important market trends that allow our issuer and investor clients to outperform. We will maintain a sharp focus on sectors and regions where we have outstanding relationships and relevant leadership experience.”

He says the bank remains as excited as ever about the outlook for Asia-Pacific activity. Indeed, it helped Japan’s Kansai Paint sell its first convertible bond – a $953m-equivalent, dual-tranche deal – and the first euro-denominated convertible bond out of China, a €365m issuance by infrastructure company Zhejiang Expressway.

Meanwhile, at home in the US its long track record within the technology sector has led to a trusted relationship with Tesla. Earlier this year it helped Elon Musk’s firm raise $1.4bn via a simultaneous equity and convertible bond offering. Both tranches were more than two-times oversubscribed, leading to both being upsized by $100m. 

Most innovative investment bank for fixed income, currencies and commodities trading 

Winner: Société Générale 

Innovation within investment banking is not limited to client solutions. As such, The Banker has introduced an award for fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) trading to recognise the advancements made by markets divisions in how they serve their clients. The combination of post-crisis reforms, the onset of digitisation, increased client sophistication and new fintech competition has forced markets businesses to adapt to a new era for trading.

Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB) is leading the charge. Alain Fischer, chief digital officer within global banking and investor solutions at SG CIB, says the development of digital tools to simplify clients’ lives and drive internal efficiencies is a top priority for the bank, and has been firmly embedded in its business-wide strategy for years. 

“For the investment banking division, the programme includes the development of a large set of tools across the trading value chain from pre- to post-trade,” he says. “In the FICC space, we have used our strong business positions to develop market-leading applications such as our commodities trading platform, the credit and rates options trade builder and the foreign exchange event tracker.”

Indeed, its client portal SG Markets is among today’s most advanced electronic client platforms, incorporating pre-trade, execution and post-trade functionality across a range of asset classes. It is a trailblazer in allowing clients to not only design structured products online, but also execute online. The so-called credit options trade builder, which was introduced in 2016, offers clients a new tool to predict how their option strategies will perform. To optimise the user experience, the builder is offered as an application programming interface, meaning it can be incorporated onto clients’ own dashboards. 

Some of the most impressive advancements are happening behind the scenes. SG CIB recently developed an automated internal application to streamline the process from request-for-quotation to deal processing for rates products. It has quickened trades, reduced the possibility for human error, improved pricing efficiency and supports regulatory requirements under the incoming Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II.

The platform’s coverage of commodities has accelerated over the past 12 months, making it the only execution platform covering all commodity classes. The latest advancement, known as MyHedge, allows clients to track their commodity exposure and test new hedging strategies.

Most innovative investment bank for infrastructure and project finance 

Winner: Macquarie Capital 

Australia’s pre-eminent investment bank has made a name for itself in project finance around the world. During the awards period, judges were impressed by the structuring innovation it displayed across all major infrastructure asset classes and regions. 

For Mark Dooley, head of infrastructure, utilities and renewables at Macquarie Capital Europe, the bank’s success reflects its long-standing institutional commitment to the infrastructure industry. “This history brings unrivalled knowledge of the sector and the capital markets and investors that support it,” he says. “Beyond this, we are able to mobilise our large and flexible balance sheet in support of clients and transactions and we continue to invest in building specialist industry knowledge within the team, enabling us to deliver outstanding results for our clients.”

Many of the bank’s projects are transformative for the host country’s economy, will kickstart new asset classes or will unlock new sources of liquidity. In Europe it was financial adviser and equity underwriter on the £920m ($1.18bn) Tees Renewable Energy Project, the world’s largest new-build biomass power station, which was seven years in the making. Macquarie devised the innovative commercial and financial structure that got the deal over the line, despite disruption caused by the Brexit referendum.

Macquarie was also behind an innovative holding company structure and interest rate swap that paved the way for Dong Energy to sell a 50% stake in the Race Bank offshore wind farm off the UK coast for £1.6bn. 

In its home market, Macquarie advised on a 30-year concession for an investment management firm to operate student residences within Australian National University (ANU). It was structured such that certain risks more easily managed by the private sector were transferred to the investment manager, while the students continue to liaise with ANU, and has prompted other universities to consider similar arrangements. It also advised AGL Energy on the establishment of its ground-breaking Powering Australian Renewables Fund (PARF) and its first transactions. 

As the energy and infrastructure ecosystem continues to evolve, the bank is committed to working with key players on transactions that drive and shape the market. “We are particularly excited about our acquisition of Green Investment Bank, evidencing our belief and commitment to the fast-growing renewable power market and the green economy generally,” adds Mr Dooley.

Most innovative investment bank for IPOs and equity raisings 

Winner: Citi 

Looking at Citi’s equity capital markets (ECM) highlights over the awards period, it is hard to believe the market for initial public offerings (IPOs) is fighting its way out of a global slump. The US bank’s leadership and innovation in helping companies float all around the world sees it clinch this award for the second year running. 

“Our unique global perspective allowed us to better understand the equity markets in 2016 and 2017 and source high-quality IPO candidates from both the developed and emerging markets,” says Tyler Dickson, Citi’s head of global capital markets origination. “We also correctly assessed how to navigate the energy cycle, identified the equity rotation associated with the US election, responded first to interest rate hikes ensuring our clients were prepared to leverage the opportunity, and capitalised on favourable market conditions to issue equity as part of large merger and acquisition transactions.”

Among the deals that leveraged expected rate rises was insurer Athene’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange on December 8. It became the country’s biggest IPO of the year, attracting orders equal to more than eight times the base offer size, which allowed it to be upsized by 14%. In early 2017, Citi was lead left bookrunner for Keane on its $585m IPO, the biggest listing by an oilfield services company since the oil price collapsed three years ago. Citi also helped devise dual-class share structures for clients that want to go public, but also want management or the founders to retain some degree of voting control.

Meanwhile, in Brazil it brought Azul Airlines to market via a $644m listing (the country’s biggest since 2014) that helped revive the local ECM market. In South Korea it led on Samsung Biologics’ $2bn IPO – the world’s biggest healthcare listing in two years – and gaming company Netmarble on its $2.4bn heavily oversubscribed listing.  

IPOs aside, Citi has been responsible for the slick execution of many accelerated equity offerings (AEO) over the past 12 months. This includes retailer Steinhoff’s €2.5bn capital increase last September, and the French government’s disposal of the rights it did not wish to purchase in a EDF rights issue via an AEO completed before trading started the following day. The latter was a first-of-its-kind transaction that received significant investor interest. Citi also continued its leadership in the special purpose acquisition companies space in the US and Canada. 

Most innovative investment bank for Islamic finance 

Winner: HSBC 

The breadth and depth of HSBC’s Islamic finance capabilities was on full show over the awards period, testament to its on-the-ground strength in emerging markets around the world. Judges were impressed by the bank’s ability to attract a wide variety of issuers, and its trailblazing work connecting issuers with alternative sources of liquidity.

“HSBC continues to be a trusted adviser for many clients securing both debut and repeat mandates,” says Mohammed Dawood, HSBC’s global head of sukuk financing. “Our most notable strengths include continuous developments in the sukuk structuring space, leading to new and innovative structures – in turn paving the way for a large amount of debut issuers to access this vibrant market.”

HSBC’s recent work for sovereigns is of particular note. It was structuring adviser and joint global coordinator on Saudi Arabia’s landmark $9bn sukuk in April. In addition to utilising a unique structure, it was the world’s biggest sukuk issuance to date. One month later it was joint lead manager and joint bookrunner on Oman’s first international sukuk, a $2bn seven-year offering that was met with robust investor demand. 

The bank has also taken a leading role in Asia’s most notable Islamic finance transactions. It was mandated on the government of Hong Kong’s third offering based on a wakalah structure, a $1bn deal that made it the first AAA rated sovereign to issue a 10-year sukuk. Meanwhile, in Indonesia it played a key role in the government’s $3bn sukuk which, thanks to the bank’s slick execution, achieved some of the market’s tightest pricing to date.

Back in the Middle East, HSBC was instrumental on Equate Petrochemical’s $500m debut sukuk in February. This racked up a string of firsts, including the first senior sukuk from Kuwait and the first from a Kuwaiti corporate. Mr Dawood also includes Etihad Airways’ debut unlisted public sukuk issuance – the largest non-sovereign sukuk in a decade – as a recent highlight.  

Going forward, these two regions are at the centre of the bank’s Islamic finance ambitions. “HSBC remains very focused on delivering a high quality of service to our core clients across the Middle East, north Africa, Turkey and Asia,” says Mr Dawood, who adds that the bank continues to develop the market through its thought leadership.

Most innovative investment bank for leveraged finance 

Winner: Credit Suisse 

Credit Suisse has shown an unwavering commitment to its leveraged finance business in recent years, and it has paid off handsomely for the bank. It consistently tops global and US league tables for high-yield bonds and leveraged loans, but the reason it has scooped this award for the second year running is its leadership on the innovation front.  

“Credit Suisse’s leveraged finance franchise stands out through our ability to consistently deliver complex solutions with best-in-class execution, demonstrated by our strong market share and skill in managing a variety of transactions,” says David Miller, global head of credit and head of global credit products at Credit Suisse.

Mathew Cestar, the bank’s co-head of global leveraged finance capital markets and co-head of global credit products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, says that as a truly global franchise, the bank can provide clients with access to markets in the US or Europe depending on which market offers the best opportunity at any one time. “We specialise in bringing cross-border multi-currency transactions to market that offer clients one optimal financing solution in varied global market conditions,” he says. “The bank’s expert structuring capabilities mean it is also at the forefront of innovation, developing bespoke structures and compelling solutions for clients.” 

Its standout in Europe was a novel £350m ($447.4m) receivables financing transaction for Virgin Media in September 2016. The Swiss bank was sole structuring agent and sole global coordinator on what is regarded as the world’s first receivables financing notes. It offered investors a unique opportunity to obtain exposure to the UK cable company via supply chain financing. 

In the US it had a lead role on the $49.5bn in fully committed debt funding provided to Dell to acquire EMC. The multi-tranche deal included the impeccably timed launch of a $5bn term loan B and $3.25bn of junk bonds which capitalised on investor demand to drive down borrowing costs.

The Swiss bank’s intimate knowledge of, and ability to navigate, choppy markets came to the fore during Europe’s year-long stretch of political volatility. In July 2016, it led the first sterling-denominated high-yield issuance to follow the Brexit referendum, and nine months later was lead left bookrunner on a €625m issuance for Atalian which reopened France’s high-yield market following the first round of its contentious presidential elections. 

Most innovative investment bank for mergers and acquisitions 

Winner: Lazard 

Lazard provides strong evidence that independent investment banks are gaining an edge over many bulge brackets in mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Not only did it land lead roles in the past year’s major transactions, but it has shown genuine innovation in structuring, truly global expertise and an uncanny ability to get deals across the line that many deem impossible. 

“Our success reflects the quality of our people and how well we work together to deliver the firm’s global resources to our clients,” says Alex Stern, chief operating officer of Lazard and chief executive officer of Lazard Financial Advisory.

A highlight from the awards period is AB InBev’s $109bn public takeover of SABMiller. Their combination creates the world’s biggest drinks company and gives Lazard’s client, AB InBev, operations in virtually every major beer market in the world. The deal needed to be structured in three stages (a scheme of arrangement, an offer and a merger), and required various carve-outs and sign-off by countless antitrust authorities. 

An even more ground-breaking transaction from a regulatory perspective was SoftBank’s £24.4bn ($31.4bn) acquisition of one of the UK’s biggest technology companies, the publicly listed ARM Holdings. The buyout was the first time the UK Takeover Code’s so-called ‘post-offer undertaking’ regime was used. In accordance with these rules, which were introduced after Kraft’s controversial takeover of Cadbury, SoftBank made legally binding commitments regarding its intentions for ARM post-acquisition. In addition, it was the UK’s first notable inbound M&A deal after the Brexit vote and offered the sellers a 43% premium to ARM’s closing share price.

Lazard also had a role in some standout healthcare deals. It advised multi-national Johnson & Johnson on its acquisition of publicly listed pharmaceuticals company Actelion. The $30bn deal, which closed in June 2017, required a carve out immediately before completion and careful navigation of Swiss takeover laws. Separately, Lazard advised France’s Sanofi on the exchange of its animal health business for Boehringer Ingelheim’s consumer healthcare business.

As its clients become increasingly experienced and sophisticated about M&A, Mr Stern says they are looking to the firm for more than execution. “We are continually evolving to anticipate their needs, with regional expertise, in-depth sector knowledge, smart advice on capital structure, insights about shareholders and innovative solutions to complex challenges,” he adds. 

Most innovative investment bank for private placements 

Winner: HSBC 

With policy-makers encouraging borrowers to reduce their reliance on bank loans, and institutional investors flush with liquidity, private placements have never looked so appealing. With no requirement to comply with the stringent requirements associated with a public offering, private placements are an attractive option for borrowers tapping the capital markets for the first time.  

The instrument originated in the US, but the submissions for this category suggest it is becoming a truly global asset class. HSBC picks up the award for spearheading private placement’s proliferation across new markets, currencies and formats.

“Developing cross-border transactions and new markets for our clients is a key focus at HSBC, and our cross-product platform and expertise has allowed us to regularly deliver tailor-made private placement financing solutions,” says Ali Hussain, a managing director in the bank’s capital financing division. 

HSBC has been a key player in transforming Germany’s schuldschein loans into a global product. It assisted Volkswagen on a €900m-equivalent schuldschein – the dollar tranche made it the biggest dollar-denominated schuldschein to date – and French small appliance maker Groupe SEB place an Ä800m schuldschein.

HSBC has proved the flexibility of the private placement format, working on the first social private placement by a Spanish municipality. Late in 2016 it introduced schuldschein to the Middle East corporate sector, working on the market-opening deal by Etihad Airways – a six-tranche, dual-currency placement totaling the equivalent of €150m. Meanwhile, in Asia – HSBC’s most profitable region – the bank is at the forefront of the burgeoning market for formosa bonds (those issued in Taiwan but denominated in a foreign currency). 

The bank is focused on markets and themes that benefit its clients and allow it to provide assets for the key global liquidity pools, while maintaining its focus on flow business. “We want to capture both sides of the private placement business (flow and strategic) for our client base, and our private placements team is set up regionally and also structurally within debt capital markets and syndicate to be able to effectively deliver on these targets,” says Mr Hussain.

Most innovative investment bank for restructuring 

Winner: Houlihan Lokey 

Houlihan Lokey effectively started the business of financial restructuring. Back in the late 1980s, as balance sheets became bigger and more complicated, it realised that creditors holding different layers of debt were not going to see eye to eye when the debtor ran into trouble, and that advisers would be needed. 

More than 30 years later, it is still the leader in the field. It has an impressive cross-border team of highly regarded professionals who are equally capable with debtor or creditor mandates, and is consistently brought in to help resolve the most complex restructurings across the full spectrum of industries. 

“Our strategy is to continuously maintain and expand our leadership role as the pre-eminent provider of financial restructuring advisory services in the marketplace,” says Joseph Swanson, senior managing director and co-head of the firm’s European restructuring group. “We focus on the entire debt market for potential defaults, with particular emphasis and dedication on sectors expected to experience a heightened level of distress.”

In recent years, Houlihan Lokey has been at the forefront of reorganisations in the troubled oil and gas sector. In 2016 it advised on EnQuest’s $2bn debt restructure, one of Europe’s most complex of late, which marked the first time retail notes had been included within a UK public limited company’s restructure. Meanwhile, in the US it devised and implemented a so-called ‘pre-arranged’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Sandridge Energy, which, after some tough negotiations and shareholder challenges, eliminated $3.7bn of debt and preferred stock, injected $525m of liquidity and significantly reduced its net leverage. 

In Asia, a clear highlight was the restructure of Shenzhen-based Kaisa Group. With the help of Houlihan Lokey, in July 2016 Kaisa completed a precedent-setting restructure of Rmb48bn ($7.7bn) of onshore debt and $3bn of offshore debt. The bank managed to orchestrate this despite Kaisa’s complex capital structure, the departure of senior managers, the founder’s family trying to sell its 49% stake, a liquidity shortage, and enforcement proceedings launched by onshore lenders. 

Other standout transactions include a R29bn ($2.19bn) debt restructure for South African clothing retailer Edcon. After tough negotiations, a series of transactions were agreed that reduced Edcon’s group debt from R28.83bn to some R19.93bn, slashed its leverage, and injected R2.89bn in new funds. Houlihan Lokey has also been praised for its work on the $9.9bn global restructuring of Spain’s Abengoa, which many describe as setting a template for future cross-border reorganisations of similar scale.

Most innovative investment bank for risk management 

Winner: Société Générale 

Over many years, Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB) has established itself as the go-to bank for risk management, so it is little surprise that it excelled at helping clients navigate the tumultuous year from June 2016 to June 2017. From the surprise outcomes of the Brexit referendum and US presidential race, to currency volatility and the rise of anti-EU parties in member state elections, SG CIB proved its worth by devising hedging strategies to mitigate the fallout from macro shocks.

Its global markets platform is fully integrated across asset classes and products, allowing for the transfer of know-how from one asset class to another. It stems from organisational changes introduced as early as 2009 and has grown ever since, according to Albert Loo, head of sales for fixed income and currencies and co-head of cross-asset sales at SG CIB.

“The set-up fuels a product-agnostic client approach, allowing us to service clients holistically,” he says. “We have an almost unrivalled ability to connect the different centres of expertise – products, markets, geographies, sectors. Combined with Société Générale’s profound expertise in the derivatives arena, it becomes a powerful offering, allowing us to find innovative, non-traditional solutions for even the most complicated of problems.”

Highlight trades include unwinding a utility client’s interest rate swap portfolio in a way that sidestepped the usual funding valuation adjustment (FVA) costs. For investors, it continued to innovate new ways to find yield within a record-low interest rate environment. One example is the Codeis Smart Cash product, a bespoke note-based product that offers insurers a higher coupon than vanilla money market instruments.

Some of SG CIB’s standout work was in event-driven hedging. The French bank devised a multi-layered pre-hedge to mitigate the effect of commodity price volatility between signing and completion of one of the year’s biggest US oil and gas mergers. 

Client work aside, SG CIB continues to find new ways to manage the risks on its own books to ensure it can meet investors’ growing demand for derivatives-based solutions. It stress tests different scenarios for upcoming political event risks, to ensure it will be able to keep serving clients irrespective of the outcome. It proved its worth following the Brexit referendum, as it meant the division was immune to the large foreign exchange swings that followed.

Most innovative investment bank for securitisation

Winner: Credit Suisse 

At a time when policy-makers around the world are encouraging asset-backed securities (ABS) as a way to free-up bank balance sheets and unleash more funding for the real economy, Credit Suisse’s securitisation credentials – particularly residential-mortgage-backed securitisation (RMBS) – have gone from strength to strength.  

“More than any other bank, issuers trust Credit Suisse’s structuring experience and syndication leadership when it comes to building out new securitisation programmes,” says Jay Kim, global head of securitised products at the Swiss bank. “We have consistently shepherded inaugural issuers to the market, introducing the highest number of new issuers to the ABS market during this period.” 

This includes two US finance firms which managed their first auto ABS deals less than 25 months after launching their auto lending platform. During the awards period, Credit Suisse was rewarded with repeat business by its loyal client base, and showed its trademark innovation in structuring first-of-a-kind deals and expanding the pool of underlying assets. It was lead adviser on US government-backed mortgage provider Freddie Mac’s first sale of re-performing mortgages, marking the commencement of a new chapter in its risk-transfer programme. Also in the US mortgage market, it structured the inaugural securitisation of Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights, which kick-started a new asset class.

In esoteric ABS, Credit Suisse created a $345m hybrid securitisation and corporate finance vehicle for Residential Investment, which is backed by the excess servicing fees payable under specified servicing rights purchase agreements. As part of a $615m refinancing for residential solar power firm Sunnova Energy Corporation, the bank structured $255m of solar-backed notes – the biggest ABS of its kind to-date. 

Among its transactions with the biggest market impact is a $281m issuance by Triton Container International, which reopened the ABS container segment following the high-profile bankruptcy of one of the sector’s biggest companies. After Triton ended the market’s year-long hiatus, three other issuers quickly launched similar deals. Credit Suisse continues to work on the wind-down of UKAR (which holds the loans acquired from UK banks during the crisis), most recently advising on an £11.8bn ($15.2bn) sale of buy-to-let mortgages which was supported by RMBS staple financings.

Most innovative investment bank for structured investor products 

Winner: BNP Paribas 

The depth of BNP Paribas’s geographic spread, asset class expertise and structuring sophistication gives it the edge in this category for 2017. “Although the past year has brought significant headwinds in terms of record-low interest rates and unprecedented low levels of volatility, our structured products business has performed well,” says Nicolas Marque, global head of equity derivatives at BNP Paribas. “In the past 12 months we have taken the opportunity to realign our activity more closely with clients.” 

Indeed, the French bank’s unwavering commitment to this business is evident not only in its work for individual clients, but also the changes it is making within the division to lay the groundwork for the next era of structured investor products. Additional functionality is being built into its electronic platform Smart Derivatives as part of the bank-wide focus on digitisation. The platform can now be accessed by third-party issuers, and new pay-offs and asset classes have been added. The bank is also in partnership with various fintechs to explore new digitisation opportunities.  

Its family of indices continues to grow, including its socially responsible investment suite, which incorporates criteria such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Its new Target Income Enhanced Return suite of indices, which creates an enhanced balance between income and downside risk, are also proving popular with investors on both sides of the Atlantic.

The international reach of this business continues to grow. BNP Paribas is a key provider of yield-enhancing structured products to Japan’s huge variable annuity market, while in the US it has partnered with insurer Athene to enhance and expand the range of products available to its end customers. The US has historically lagged Europe and Asia in structured products, so BNP Paribas’s efforts advancing the industry across the pond are notable. 

Closer to home, it has been instrumental in helping connect the World Bank’s sustainable bonds and structured products with Italian retail, and its equity-linked bond work with the multilateral organisation continues to spawn popular new products. In March it helped the World Bank issue the world’s first bonds for which the return is linked to the performance of companies advancing the UN’s SDGs. In 2016, BNP Paribas launched a new range of structured products dedicated to offshore advisers. Called ‘Committed to the Future’, it is focused on providing investors with value, simplicity and transparency. 

Most innovative investment bank for syndicated loans

Winner: Bank of America Merrill Lynch 

As one of the biggest banks in the world, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) has a natural advantage when it comes to underwriting the full spectrum of loan products. But the size of its balance sheet is not the reason it has won this award. Instead, judges were impressed by its seamless combination of financing and advisory capabilities on mergers and acquisitions, its work with inaugural borrowers, and the novel solutions it has devised to meet client-specific objectives.  

“We continue to demonstrate market leadership in structuring and syndicating bridge and institutional loans, particularly during volatile markets when clients look to us to advise them through challenging market conditions,” says Sarang Gadkari, co-head of global leveraged finance at BAML. The bank’s experience in structuring loan products for complex transaction has, he believes, helped it become a trusted partner for its clients. 

The bank’s long-standing experience in all types of funding instruments gives it an unrivalled ability to assess which is best for the given situation. “We provide product-agnostic advice to identify the best solution for our clients,” says Andrew Karp, BAML’s head of global investment grade capital markets. “Additionally we have the execution capabilities to deliver quality results across geographies and markets,” he adds. 

Indeed, the bank’s truly international presence is apparent from its deal highlights. BAML was joint underwriter on German chemicals company Bayer’s $56.9bn bridge loan – Europe’s biggest loan facility to date – to fund its takeover of US-based Monsanto. In Latin America it was instrumental in refinancings by some of the region’s biggest corporates, while in Australia it was mandated lead arranger on the A$4.6bn ($3.65bn) acquisition financing of a 50-year lease to operate the country’s biggest port.  

In North America it is joint underwriter of AT&T’s $40bn bridge loan to support its pending acquisition of Time Warner and the $2.23bn financing behind Thomson Reuters’ disposal of Intellectual Property & Science. The latter was complicated by the target’s complex carve-out from the sellers, and the fact it was originally marketed as two entities.  

Its involvement in landmark deals such as these is testament to BAML’s distribution capabilities and credibility within the markets. “Our strong relationships with the investor community provide real-time feedback that we use to calibrate our execution timing and marketing strategy, which is critical to success, particularly during rapidly changing market conditions,” says Kevin Sherlock, co-head of global leveraged finance at BAML.

Most innovative investment bank for emerging markets 

Winner: Credit Suisse 

Credit Suisse’s bespoke emerging market strategy plays to its strengths. It takes an advisory-led approach, and has launched various internal initiatives that help coverage bankers connect emerging markets clients with new sources of capital from around the world. 

Some of these programmes are in partnership with the Swiss bank’s world-class private banking business, allowing the investment bank to leverage Credit Suisse’s wealth management capabilities. Vikas Seth, global head of emerging markets for the bank’s investment banking capital markets division, notes the division’s competitiveness and client impact have been enhanced by the latest initiatives such as its New Pools of Capital database and Sovereign Wealth Fund Centre of Excellence.

The strategy appears to be bearing fruit. During the awards period the Swiss bank had a role in many of the most notable and complex transactions spanning emerging and frontier markets around the world. “We remained highly relevant in all regions, advising on transformational mergers, market reopening financings, jumbo initial public offerings [IPOs] and inaugural issuances in frontier markets,” says Mr Seth.

Leveraging its financial institution group (FIG) expertise, it advised National Bank of Abu Dhabi on its landmark $29.1bn merger with First Gulf Bank to create First Bank of Abu Dhabi, the Middle East’s biggest lender by assets. It also advised Brazil’s Duke Energy on the $2.4bn sale of its Latin American business to China Three Gorges and US private equity firm I Squared Capital. 

Meanwhile, in Asia it was joint bookrunner in a $1.5bn high-yield issuance by Evergrande Group, the biggest dollar-denominated deal of its kind out of China, while in Singapore it advised investment firm Temasek on its scheme of arrangement to acquire transport operator SMRT.

Credit Suisse has been at the forefront of Russia’s return to international capital markets, with a spate of mandates early in the year. It was joint global coordinator and bookrunner on Detsky Mir’s $356m initial public offering in February, reopening what had been a virtually dormant IPO market since sanctions were imposed on the country in 2014. The following month it helped Credit Bank of Moscow issue $600m in loan participation notes and a simultaneous buyback of $500m in Tier 2 bonds. 

Most innovative investment bank for financial institutions group 

Winner: Bank of America Merrill Lynch 

The operating environment for financial institutions around the globe has never been more complex. Regulatory reforms continue to bite, fintechs are disrupting traditional value chains, and the prospect of rising interest rates means dislocated markets are on the horizon. Bank of 

America Merrill Lynch (BAML) has emerged as a leader in helping these institutions adapt, with highlights spanning everything from mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and equity capital markets to green bonds and advisory. 

“The breadth of its global platform, the strength of its product offering and the depth of its industry knowledge combined allow BAML to provide superior advice and solutions to its financial institutions clients,” says Jim O’Neil, co-head of the bank’s global financial institutions group (FIG). “We distinguish ourselves with an extremely globally coordinated approach and a long-term commitment to our clients.”

This cross-border emphasis is perhaps best illustrated by the team’s highlight M&A mandates. BAML was sole transaction adviser in the $4.9bn sale of Switzerland’s Allied World to Canada’s Fairfax, which created a new leader in the insurance and reinsurance sector. It also had a lead role on the biggest cross-border asset management merger of all time, the all-stock deal between the UK’s Henderson Group and America’s Janus Capital. Its FIG M&A capabilities were perhaps best displayed by its efforts steering MoneyGram through its $2bn sale to China’s Ant Financial, the digital payments affiliate of Alibaba.  

Credentials such as this put the bank in good stead for an expected pick-up in M&A deal flow. “Going forward, we see continued transformation of the financial institutions sector globally,” says Mr O’Neil. “We expect continued consolidation in the insurance and asset management sectors, with significant cross-border activity and further M&A activity in the US banks sector.” Its insurance capabilities received an added boost recently, with the arrival of the team’s new co-head, Eric Bischof, from Morgan Stanley. 

It is telling that BAML had a role in the year’s most watched FIG ECM deals. It was joint global coordinator on UniCredit’s Ä13bn underwritten rights issue (Europe’s biggest in eight years), global coordinator on Allied Irish Bank’s €3.3bn privatisation by way of a listing on the Irish Stock Exchange, and helped lead Postal Savings Bank of China’s record-breaking $7.6bn flotation in Hong Kong. 

Given BAML’s reputation as a leader in sustainable finance, it is no surprise that it performed multiple roles on Bank of China’s $2.25bn and €500m multi-tranche green bond, the biggest ever and the first euro-denominated green bond from Asia (excluding Japan).

Most innovative bank for small and medium-sized enterprises 

Winner: DBS 

Singapore’s biggest bank is the inaugural winner of the award for best investment bank for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Banker introduced this category to recognise banks’ efforts to help growth companies achieve their potential by introducing them to investment banking products. 

It is particularly pertinent in Europe, in light of policy-makers’ attempts to encourage SMEs to switch bank loans for the bond market. But as the inaugural winner reveals, this is a truly global trend. South-east Asia’s biggest bank, DBS, has bridged the gap between these businesses and the investment banking world like few others. 

This is a reflection of the universal bank’s primary focus areas: wealth management, cash management, debt capital markets (DCM), and foreign exchange (FX) and risk management – all of which present an opportunity in Asia. Its DCM, custody, FX and risk management capabilities have paved the way for it to provide more sophisticated solutions to SME clients. It also makes DBS well placed to take advantage of Asia’s growing markets for structured debt, such as securitisation and covered bonds.

“At DBS we are very focused on helping SMEs build and enhance their capabilities, such as becoming more innovative and efficient by adopting digital technologies,” says Joyce Tee, group head of SME banking at DBS. “With our well-established track record in the capital markets, we have supported, and will continue to support, SMEs to tap the capital markets with innovative deals and structures, to help them diversify their sources of capital and tap new investor bases.”

During the awards period it was sole arranger of Oxley Holding’s $1bn medium-term note programme, and subsequent $200m four-year bond. This was the first mid-cap Singaporean corporate to successfully tap the dollar market. It has also fostered the local bond market by helping many smaller companies with their market debuts. These deals have broadened their investor base and increased their profiles to help with future fundraisings. 

DBS has spearheaded various SME initiatives, the most recent of which is a partnership with cloud accounting platform Xero, which streamlines the SMEs’ management of, and access to, capital. By giving SMEs real-time access to their financial data, it is hoped they will have a fuller and more accurate picture of their business’s financers, empowering them to make more informed financing decisions. 

Most innovative investment bank for sovereigns, supranationals and agencies 

Winner: Lazard 

While many banks have been bookrunners on the recent flurry of blockbuster government bonds, they do not rival the finesse of Lazard in providing advice across the full spectrum of sovereigns, supranationals and agencies (SSAs). The independent investment bank has become a trusted adviser to SSAs around the world; indeed, its sovereign advisory team has experience in more than 50 countries spanning everything from fiscal and monetary policy to privatisations and multilateral negotiations. 

“We assemble bespoke teams for each situation, and each team focuses on only one assignment at a time, from start to finish,” says Matthieu Pigasse, global head of sovereign advisory and mergers and acquisitions at Lazard. “Our sovereign advisory group is multi-disciplinary, with bankers, economists, former civil servants, rating and capital markets experts, and thought leaders in the economic development and macro-economic spheres, and we work closely
with Lazard’s sector bankers globally.” 

Lazard has been instrumental in some of the biggest SSA developments during the awards period. It worked with Egyptian authorities to implement changes to help secure the country’s three-year support programme from the International Monetary Fund. This included an ambitious economic reform package and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange rate. 

It has also laid the groundwork for emerging market SSAs to debut in, or return after a long hiatus to, international capital markets. For example, Lazard was instrumental in helping Oman design and implement a new strategy for financing its budget, and stage its multi-billion dollar return to international bond markets after a two-decade absence. Also in the Middle East, it advised Bahrain’s Ministry of Finance on a new strategy and framework to support the country’s long-term fiscal sustainability.

In addition to national governments, Mr Pigasse notes that Lazard is increasingly advising sub-sovereign entities such as local authorities or state-owned entities. In Austria, for example, it helped restructure €10.9bn of guarantees granted in part by the province of Carinthia for the benefit of creditors of HETA, the bad bank created from the nationalisation of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank. Meanwhile, the state-controlled International Bank of Azerbaijan has turned to Lazard to advise on its $3.3bn restructuring of foreign currency debt.