Best bank - Fortis
Best debt house - Deutsche Bank
Best equities house - UBS
Best M&A house - ABN Amro
Best local partner - Dexia Securities
Fortis dominates the Belgian banking market through Generale Bank, which it bought in 1998. It specializes in acquisition, project and structured finance, as well as syndicated lending. It also provides Belgian companies with a full range of treasury and cash management services. Over the past 12 months it has participated in loans for major Belgian corporates such as Interbrew and the Etex Group to finance its demerger. It was also bookrunner on a NKr500 million ($70 million) bond deal for KBC International Financieringsmaatschappij, a e5 billion bond for the Kingdom of Belgium and e100 million for Delhaize, which doesn't have a rating.
Although Morgan Stanley tops the league tables for Belgian debt issuance, its business over the past 12 months consisted almost entirely of issues for financial institutions. Deutsche Bank, on the other hand, has demonstrated strength across the full range of product and borrower categories. Deutsche led a number of key loans for corporates, including a $3.2 billion and then a $3.45 billion syndicated deal for Euroclear Bank in August and February.