Best bank - UniCredito Italiano
Best debt house - JPMorgan
Best equity house - Morgan Stanley
Best M&A house - JPMorgan
Best local partner - Mediobanca
Italy's banking industry hit a low note earlier this year when several domestic banks, including UniCredito Italiano, clubbed together to buy a stake in Generali with the intention of stopping French investor Vincent Bolloré gaining control.
Despite its involvement in this slightly dubious scheme, UniCredito does not seem to have done any long-term damage to its franchise. Since former McKinsey consultant Alessandro Profumo arrived at the bank, it has gone from strength to strength.
UniCredito is the largest Italian bank by market capitalization, with a return on equity of 17.2% and a cost to income ratio of just 54.3%, among the lowest of European banks. In January, Profumo decided to split UniCredito into three domestic banks: a corporate bank, private bank and a retail and small business bank - its S3 project. UniCredit Banca d'Impresa is the unit that services mid-sized and large corporates in Italy.
Although JPMorgan's European debt business is considered patchy by many, Italy is certainly a sweet spot for it. In a divided market - ABN dominates asset-backed, Merrill Lynch the local authorities - JPMorgan manages to make its mark across the debt business.