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Awards for Excellence 1999

Awards for Excellence 1999

Alexander Nelson Hood, 4th Viscount Bridport.

Awards for Excellence 1999

With jumbo syndicated loans generating large fees - $600 million for Olivetti's deal alone - syndicated lending is suddenly a big revenue earner for investment banks. But how much old-fashioned lending business is there left for the market's smaller players? Jack Dyson reports.

Henry Grunfeld died on June 10, a few days after celebrating his 95th birthday with his family and close colleagues. He had maintained his regular attendance at his office at Warburg Dillon Read, and his interest in the business and activities of the firm, until the day before his death.

Every chief executive in Europe should heed the lessons of Telecom Italia's defeat. No company is beyond attack and the art of how to fight a hostile raider must be learned, or relearned, urgently. Olivetti's was a daring stroke, inspired by Roberto Colaninno's ambition and by a group of advisers each believing their improbable target was attainable. But its assault was as blunt and simple as a battering ram.

An M&A flood has shaped the financial markets landscape of the past 12 months and seeped into almost every category of our global awards for excellence this year. Lots of banks and investment banks are riding the tide but none more so than Morgan Stanley, our best investment bank of 1999 and best M&A adviser. More than ever, acquisitions have been financed by big loans. That has helped underscore the dominance of Chase, our best bank. Citigroup's success in many categories provides evidence that Citi and Salomon are confounding the sceptics and learning to work together.

Miguel Angel Rodríguez was elected president of Costa Rica on one of the most reformist platforms the country has ever seen. One year into office he talks about how to end inflation, the difficulties of pushing through privatization and how soon Costa Rica should embrace the dollar.

Manuel Hinds finishes his term as finance minister of El Salvador this month. He is proud of the government's achievements but sees one large piece of unfinished business - getting rid of the national currency.

An interesting document, which came into Euromoney's hands, maybe sheds some light on the furore in Japan about deals allegedly designed to defer losses over future reporting periods. David Shirreff reports