Best bank:
Banco Santander-Chile
Best debt house:
Citigroup/Salomon Smith Barney
Best equity house:
Deutsche Bank
Best M&A house:
JPMorgan
Banco Santander-Chile is not Chile's largest bank in terms of assets, loans or equity (although it is the largest in terms of deposits). But when it comes to efficiency, it is unrivalled. Its pre-tax net income of $163 million in 2000 was higher than any other bank's, and in fact accounts for 21% of all operating profits in the Chilean banking system.
Santander-Chile comes out number one in terms of the other standard ratios, posting a very impressive 28.7% return on equity in 2000, and a cost-to-income ratio of 49.6%. The return on equity is the third highest in Latin America, after Safra and Banco Itaú in Brazil, and the efficiency ratio is the best in the region.
And although much of the banking world is concentrating increasingly on corporates and high-net-worth indivi-duals, Santander-Chile has struck a goldmine with Banefe, its wholly owned subsidiary targeted at individuals earning less than $800 a month. Banefe has more than half a million customers, who are very grateful for access to capital, and have proved surprisingly creditworthy.