Best bank - Sinopac
Best equity house - Citigroup
Best debt house - Citigroup
Best M&A house - Citigroup
Poor risk management and ill-advised lending to corporates is still causing concern for Taiwan's banks. But over the past year there has been a concerted effort to get bad loans out of the banks. The over-banked market is also showing signs of consolidation. But some observers describe the process as a facade. As one analyst remarks: "This is more about horizontal diversification than market consolidation. If you have a large financial group taking over an insurer or a bank what does this actually do for the banking market? Very little."
Bank Sinopac stands out quite clearly as a leader. Headed by the charismatic Paul Lo, it is one of the few banks to realize that its future lies just as much outside Taiwan as in. Its operations now extend from Taiwan to Hong Kong and California, and it has developed an important alliance with First Sino Bank in Shanghai. No other bank in Taiwan can claim such a wide-ranging business. The bank is also internally balanced and focuses as much on retail as wholesale business.