Regional Awards for Excellence 2013: Western Europe

July 11, 2013

Euromoney picks out the Best Bank and Best Investment Bank in Western Europe, as well as the leading institutions in project finance, cash management, risk advisory, flow, M&A, equity, and debt.

Best Bank: BNP Paribas
Best Investment Bank: Deutsche Bank
Best Debt House: HSBC
Best Equity House: Goldman Sachs
Best M&A House: Rothschild
Best Flow House: Barclays
Best Project Finance House: BNP Paribas
Best Cash Management House: Deutsche Bank
Best Risk Adviser: Deutsche Bank

Awards for Excellence 2013

Best Bank

Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, BNP Paribas. Efficiency has driven success

Euromoney’s best bank in western Europe is BNP Paribas, one of the still surprisingly few national champion banks in the region to have strong positions outside its home market, in Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg. Between 2006 and 2009 it doubled its retail franchise in Europe. It now runs key commercial banking businesses from outside Paris. Recently it has moved ahead of the competition in Europe by adapting early to the regulatory and capital challenges.

BNP Paribas, partly through tough cost-reduction programmes, has earned its way to a strong capital position, with Basle III common equity tier 1 now at 9.9%. That is ahead even of the big-two Swiss banks, as well as its local rival, Société Générale, and Barclays. Its leverage ratio is down below 20.