Best bank
Banco Itaú
Best local partner
Banco Bradesco
Best equity house
UBS
Best debt house
UBS
Best M&A house
Goldman Sachs
As ever in Latin America, the awards in Brazil are typically the most interesting and the hardest to decide. Last year big banks JPMorgan and Citigroup won no awards in the country, and the same is true this year. But the one award that is normally a no-brainer is Banco Itaú winning best bank in Brazil - as indeed it does this year.
What is new is the degree of competition that Itaú faced. Both Bradesco and Santander-owned Banespa had very strong claims to the title.
Bradesco is the largest bank in Brazil, and wins our award for best local partner. For such a big bank (it also owns Brazil's largest insurance company) it's now very well run, and has the benefit of diversification into pension funds and insurance as well as just banking. It had a fantastic 2002, growing its deposits by more than 35% and making more money, in total, than Itaú. It also bought Spanish-owned BBVA Brasil for just over $800 million as part of its race with Itaú to be the biggest bank in the country.