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| Best Global project finance and infrastructure house: HSBC |
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| Also nominated: BNP Paribas and MUFG |
The world of project and infrastructure finance is demarcated between government-owned providers of capital and international groups able to advise on the deals. With regulatory changes on the horizon, this split is likely to become more pronounced.
The global bank that has the best strategic grasp of this new world is HSBC. It focuses its project and infrastructure finance business primarily on advice, rather than arranging. This leaves it open to the charge that it is not willing to put its money where its mouth is, but that overlooks the facts. While the bank has 74 live advisory mandates, it has 31 arranging mandates too.
"We do very much concentrate on advisory," acknowledges David Gardner, global head of project finance. "We want to be there from day one, structuring the deal correctly and then, if there is an arranging opportunity, we will come into that."
He does, however, emphasize that HSBC’s involvement is not just about advice, but also about the bank’s capacity to lend.