Awards for Excellence 2020

It was not the only bank that came into the Covid crisis with a strong balance sheet, but, as in 2008, the bank has shown that its diverse businesses provide plentiful earnings to take big reserves, even while it keeps financing large corporates and small businesses alike. Deposits have flooded in, technology investments have proved their worth and it is winning more business from mid-cap clients inside and outside the US – and it coped with the temporary absence of a legendary chief executive.

JPMorgan was not the only bank that came into the Covid crisis with a strong balance sheet, but, as in 2008, the bank has shown that its diverse business lines and fortress balance sheet are what distinguishes it from the pack.

The new chief executive of HSBC had announced a big cost-cutting programme just before Covid hit. He was smart enough to pause it and encourage local staff around the world, even in locations where the redundancies were set to fall, to back their customers with quick loan decisions. Noel Quinn discusses the bank’s impressive response.

Thomas Gottstein looked uncertain when stepping up to succeed Tidjane Thiam in February, but his response to the pandemic, including a scheme with the government, central bank and other lenders to save Swiss SMEs, demonstrated why he was appointed. He is now reshaping the bank Thiam handed over to him.

Wholehearted commitment and revamped leadership have helped Barclays find a new vigour in its markets division.

As the world’s financial markets went into crisis in 2020, Citi showed it had the capital strength and global reach to keep its clients in business

Shenzhen-based Ping An Bank didn’t tweak the rulebook when it set out in pursuit of a better digital strategy. Instead, it tore it up and began again. The Chinese bank’s plans have worked beyond all expectations.

Covid-19 has given the Spanish bank an opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of a global SME franchise, even for clients without international operations.

The Swiss bank stands apart from its peers. It helped its clients profit, both in the serene waters of 2019 and in the wake left by Covid-19 as it spread across the world in 2020

Across every sector and region HSBC stands out for its commitment to developing partnerships and products that will bring finance at scale to create a more sustainable and resilient planet.

Covid-19 has not simply accelerated the push to digital but has also changed the nature of transaction banking itself.

In big, complex M&A deals, the firm’s main challenge is which side to work for.

In a global health pandemic set to cost governments across the world billions of dollars, public-sector clients need a bank they can rely on to deliver uninterrupted access to funding.

With its unique model of direct lending to microfinance institutions and bringing large investors to the table, BNP Paribas has put financial inclusion at the heart of its agenda.

Using its balance sheet to help the transition to net zero emissions, racial equality and economic mobility, while supporting employees through Covid-19 and assisting communities in all markets it operates in, Bank of America has put corporate responsibility at its core.

Even during Turkey’s recent economic turbulence, Akbank has maintained its commitment to innovation and has been the standout private-sector lender in the country.

As financial institutions bolster their balance sheets and business models after Covid-19, Morgan Stanley retains a franchise to which others can only aspire

The breadth and ambition of Santander’s diversity and inclusion programmes set it apart from its peers globally.

Its reincarnation as a sensible corporate bank is still a work in progress, but Deutsche’s achievements so far deserve recognition.

BNP Paribas has shown itself to be a bank for global corporate clients of which Europe can be proud.

Citi’s scale across the emerging markets is unrivalled, and its investment bankers have been successful in playing to that strength throughout the last year.