Awards

The corporate sector took the heaviest hit from the coronavirus pandemic, with entire industries pushed to the edge of the abyss almost overnight. Luckily, the bond markets barely missed a beat, because of the heft of central bank bond buying. The deals below are remarkable for having taken advantage of even the most volatile conditions.

In the final instalment of GlobalCapital Asia’s awards announcements, we reveal the best Asian investment bank and the best investment bank in the region for 2020, as well as the bank that stands out for its response to the Covid pandemic.

In part three of GlobalCapital Asia's awards results announcements, we reveal the winning bond deals across different categories, as well as the best debt houses and the best bank for SRI financing.

In the second part of GlobalCapital Asia’s awards announcements, we reveal the standout deals and banks in the equity capital market.

GlobalCapital Asia has spent the last two months talking to banks and their clients to determine the most impressive capital markets transactions and advisers across Asia ex-Japan in 2020, a volatile and unpredictable year. We are pleased to begin our awards announcements in the loan market.

GlobalCapital China is pleased to invite you to participate in our 2020 annual awards.

The European Investment Bank has had a long-standing and leading bond market franchise, but after reconfiguring its funding team in 2019 it has put in place a structure that readies it for future challenges.

When in March and April market circumstances swung from being most the attractive seen for years in terms of spread and coupon levels to what were the most challenging since at least the eurozone crisis, bank borrowers lost any certainty of market access for even the plainest unsecured debt. That environment suited JPMorgan, which had the size and skillset to pilot clients through the storm.

Few firms can match Rothschild & Co when it comes to the longevity of their client relationships — its oldest has endured for more than a century. In a business such as corporate debt advisory, in which relationships are crucial, that kind of lineage is an important advantage.

“There was no doubt in our minds that this was seismic,” says Mark Byrne, director, fixed income origination and syndication at TD Securities in London. He’s talking about the moment three years ago, when the UK Financial Conduct Authority confirmed plans to end the use of Libor in 2021.

The Covid-19 pandemic created one of the gravest global health and economic emergencies for a generation, requiring an unprecedented increase in issuance to fund the rapid response from sovereigns, supranationals and agencies.

Some banks talk about “delivering the bank” to clients but that is hard with so many individuals spread across so many teams and reporting lines. Bank of America does things differently. Its debt capital markets structure under Jeff Tannenbaum, head of EMEA DCM and leveraged finance, combines bonds, loans, derivatives, structuring, ESG, liability management and syndicate in a single team.