Awards for Excellence 2018
The period under review for Euromoney’s Awards for excellence neatly captured a peak of strong performance by banks and investment banks in Latin America. Between April 1, 2017 and the end of March this year, there was a return to positive growth and, probably more importantly, genuine optimism about the fortunes of two of the largest economies in the south of the region, Argentina and Brazil.
In Argentina, bankers continued to gather in Buenos Aires as the country’s companies lined up to get IPOs and follow-ons off the ground. The heavy debt burden of the sovereign eased somewhat and provinces, quasi-sovereigns and corporates came to market – some funding in dollars and others finding attractive pricing terms for international deals in the local peso.
Financial institutions made a strong subset of both the equity and debt deals as banks looked to boost capital to fund growing demand for loans and to finance possible consolidation in the sector. The future looked strong and stable as the government lined up the first wave of public-private partnerships.