Best bank
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Best equities house
UBS Warburg
Best debt house
Citigroup / Salomon Smith Barney
Best M&A house
UBS Warburg
Since bank bashing has become something of a national sport,
Australian banks are getting more customer focused and improving
their customer service. At the same time they are trying to reduce
costs. In anyone's books that's not an easy balance to strike. And
on top of this, there has been a deterioration in commercial and
corporate lending, although consumer lending remains steady. In an
effort to increase customer loyalty the banks are offering ever
more products, with some diversifying into bancassurance and more
fee based products, most notably Commonwealth Bank of Australia and
National Australia Bank. Of the two, CBA stands out and not least
because it was involved in the largest domestic take-over in
Australia's history when it bought Colonial Ltd...
