Best bank - Bank Austria Creditanstalt
Best debt house - CSFB
Best equities house - JPMorgan
Best M&A house - JPMorgan
Best local partner - KBC Securities via Patria Finance
Bank Austria has been fortunate in escaping much of the negative news about its German parent, HVB, and once again takes the award for best bank in Austria. It is by far the largest domestic bank, with total assets of e150 million, and claims to have a relationship with 80% of large corporates in Austria. From Vienna it has built a network across central and eastern Europe, with 900 offices in 15 countries. At the end of last year it launched PROMISE Austria-2002, the first securitization of Austrian mid-cap companies, in conjunction with HVB.
Banks and sovereign issuers once again dominated debt in Austria. CSFB put up a good show in both, gaining an overall market share of almost 20%. Among its achievements in the public markets was a debut fixed-rate issue for Kommunalkredit Austria (OKK) in May 2002. OKK, which raised e500 million, provides financing to municipalities and financial banks and is 51% owned by Dexia. In September, CSFB took advantage of demand from private-banking clients to launch a $400 million four-year transaction for the Republic of Austria.