GLOBAL WINNERS
By Michael Shari
| Best Investment Bank | J.P. Morgan |
| Best in Emerging Markets | Bank of America Merrill Lynch |
| Best in Frontier Markets | Qatar National Bank |
| Best Equity Bank | Morgan Stanley |
| Best Debt Bank | Bank of America Merrill Lynch |
| Best M&A Bank | Goldman Sachs |
| Best Up-and-Comer | BMO Capital Markets |
| Most Creative | Daiwa Securities |
GLOBAL WINNERS
BEST INVESTMENT BANK
J.P. Morgan
In a year of transition from survival to recovery, J.P. Morgan grew market share across the board thanks to a loyal client base, a long-term strategy to embrace regulatory reform, a legendary corporate lending legacy, and the integration of equity underwriting talent from the acquisition of Bear Stearns in 2008. J.P. Morgan raised more money in bonds than any other bank in the world—$465 billion for its clients in 2,164 deals, according to Dealogic. And it raked in $5.6 billion in investment banking fees last year—more than any other bank, according to Thomson Reuters.
BEST IN EMERGING MARKETS
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch was early to embrace reform in the wake of the financial crisis. Tapping Merrill’s vast retail client base to place equity issues, it commands the global scale to thrive in emerg-ing markets that accounted for 39% of all IPOs last year. Rising to first place in M&A advisery in emerging markets by deal value, the bank advised on 60 deals that were valued at $167.08 billion and represented a 26% market share. The bank underwrote 58 equity deals in emerging markets last year that raised $8.8 billion.
BEST IN FRONTIER MARKETS
Qatar National Bank
Qatar National Bank has built a global franchise that focuses on frontier markets in the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. The bank rose to first place in frontier equity markets last year, raising $848.6 million in a single deal that claimed a 32% market share. QNB raised another $1.05 billion in five bond deals with a 2.3% market share. And it advised clients on two M&A deals worth $2.66 billion, claiming a 4.8% market share.
BEST EQUITY BANK
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley underwrote more IPOs than any other investment bank last year, raising $10.5 billion in 60 deals worldwide. To its credit, the bank persuaded its clients to go public rather than borrow at current low interest rates. It earned $969 million in equity under-writing fees—more than any investment bank except J.P. Morgan. In a testament to the loyalty of its clients, Morgan Stanley is still regarded as the go-to bank for tech companies even though its $16 billion Facebook IPO fell nearly 30% last year.
BEST DEBT BANK
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch was early to embrace reform in the wake of the financial crisis. Tapping Merrill’s vast retail client base to place equity issues, it commands the global scale to thrive in emerg-ing markets that accounted for 39% of all IPOs last year. Rising to first place in M&A advisery in emerging markets by deal value, the bank advised on 60 deals that were valued at $167.08 billion and represented a 26% market share. The bank underwrote 58 equity deals in emerging markets last year that raised $8.8 billion.
BEST M&A BANK
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs’ M&A advisory team is renowned for its unmatched talent for assembling sophisticated, cross-border M&A deals. Clients value the bank’s ability to negotiate in countries previously thought to have been closed to foreign investors. As a result, Goldman ranked in first place in the global M&A market last year, advising clients on 418 deals that were valued $645 billion and represented a 23.6% market share. In the most complex deal of 2012, Goldman and four other banks advised AAR Consortium of Russia and BP of the UK on their $54.5 billion sale of TNK-BP to Rosneftegaz in October.
BEST UP-AND-COMER
BMO Capital Markets
Virtually unknown outside of its native Canada until a couple of years ago, BMO Capital Markets today is a leading investment bank with 2,300 employees in 29 offices. It’s also a force to be reckoned with in metals and mining, where it puts its balance sheet at risk to make sure deals get done. Last year BMO tempted mining companies back into the equity market even though mining stocks now trade below metals prices. Last October, BMO led a syndicate of banks that raised $341.2 million in a “bought deal” in which they acquired equity in gold mining company Torex Gold and sold it to investors.
MOST CREATIVE
Daiwa Securities
Daiwa Securities is credited for a highly creative IPO that stimulated a modest rise in Japan’s stock market late last year after more than two decades of stagnation. In September, Daiwa Securities was sole global coordinator for the re-listing of Japan Airlines, which raised $8.5 billion in an IPO—the world’s second largest after Facebook. JAL had been bankrupt and delisted before Daiwa dusted it off and brought it back to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Demonstrating Daiwa’s global reach, the world’s fourth-largest equity offering of the year was six times oversubscribed by international investors.
