World's best bank for financing 2017: Goldman Sachs

It may seem counterintuitive to award this year’s global financing house to a bank without the traditional balance sheet heft and lending history that might be expected in this category. Goldman Sachs has a balance sheet that is $40 billion smaller than its largest competitors, but has had a stellar run in a year where anything plain vanilla can get done and what matters is who can come up with the next-generation solution. Creativity is the differentiator when the VIX is at 10 and the S&P is at 2400. 

However, you cannot be the world’s best financing house without putting your hand in your pocket. The bank’s financing franchise has been transformed over the last nine years to see it commit over $40 billion as lead arranger to acquisition-related bridge loans in 2016. This included an $11.4 billion commitment to Bayer’s $57 billion bridge loan for its acquisition of Monsanto – the largest bridge loan commitment since 2015 and the third largest of all time.