BEST INVESTMENT BANKS

Global Finance, Jun 2005 by Platt, Gordon, Hawser, Anita, Green, Paula L

M&A BANK

JPMorgan Chase

The 37 Latin American merger and acquisition deals for which JPMorgan Chase acted as adviser in 2004 helped this global investment bank claim the top slot of announced M&A deals in Latin America. The 37 transactions held a rank value of $7.6 billion and gave the bank a market share of 19.8%, according to Thomson Financial. One significant deal in 2004 involved advising TeIefbnica Movil Chile on its $1.25 billion sale to Spain's Telefbnica. JPMorgan Chase investment bank serves thousands of clients-including corporations, financial institutions, governments and institutional investors-in more than 100 countries around the world. And its mergers and acquisitions business is a vital component of an investment banking business that ranges from equity and debt capital-raising to market-making in derivative instruments. For the first four months of this year, JPMorgan Chase captured the number-three spot in overall merger and acquisition transactions, with announced deals valued at $186.6 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA

INVESTMENT BANK

HSBC

USBC is the leading investment bank in the Middle East and has expanded its regional services in Africa. HSBC Financial Services (Middle East) and the bank's capital markets team, based in London, provide a full range of services to corporate, institutional and retail clients. HSBC Bank Middle East is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the region, with offices in Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. HSBC is also a leader in developing the domestic bond market in Egypt. HSBC Amanah is the global Islamic financial services division of HSBC. It was established in 1998 and is now based in Dubai. In 2003 HSBC opened a corporate and institutional bank in Johannesburg, which now acts as the regional office for all of HSBC's sub-Saharan African activities.

EQUITY BANK

Samba

Samba, the former Saudi American Bank, has proved that it can excel without the help of an international bank partner. Citigroup last year sold its 20% stake in Samba to the Public Investment Fund, a Saudi public entity, and recorded an after-tax gain on the sale of $760 million. Samba's handling of the Etisalat Ettihad IPO, which was oversubscribed by 100 times, demonstrated the bank's underwriting capabilities as well as the large pool of liquidity available for investment in Saudi Arabia.The telecorn IPO for UAE-based Etisalat attracted 4.3 million applicants, nearly a quarter of Saudi Arabia's population. Samba posted a 74% rise in earnings for 2004 and a significant increase in return on shareholders' equity from 16.2% to 27.3%.

DEBT BANK

Merrill Lynch

Merrill Lynch is a repeat winner of best debt bank, as it has continued to manage major deals across the region in a variety of currencies, primarily for sovereign borrowers such as Tunisia and Morocco. In April 2005 Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) was awarded a license to operate from the Dubai International Financial Center. Merrill Lynch has been present in the Middle East since 1961 and maintains offices in Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain and the UAE. Merrill Lynch also is active in African debt markets. It was lead manager of South Africa's first private-sector bond issue in 2000, and it operates a securities firm in Johannesburg. In October 2004 Merrill Lynch was the winning underwriter of $750 million of 20-year bonds for the state of Israel, which are guaranteed by the US Agency for International Development.