UK banking group HBOS has distinguished itself over the past year with a stream of deals in many different markets, combining innovation with sensitivity to meet demanding funding needs. Its activities in senior debt, bank capital and structured finance has allowed it to secure both the financial borrower and securitization borrower awards for western Europe.
David Marks, managing director in financial institutions origination at JPMorgan, says: "HBOS has managed to meet some fairly aggressive borrowing targets while maintaining very competitive levels. The funding team has extracted sizeable amounts from practically every market without paying a premium. They haven't really put a foot wrong - I can't think of a deal that wasn't well executed." Adds another b anker: "The old image of Halifax [which merged with Bank of Scotland to form HBOS] being dull as ditchwater is long gone. HBOS has impressed the market with a series of cutting-edge transactions."
One deal Tony Main, head of funding and liquidity at HBOS, is particularly pleased with is a dual-tranche dollar transaction targeted at Asian accounts in October last year. This was the bank's first serious attempt at targeting Asian investors, and was accompanied by a week's roadshow in the region.