Awards for Excellence 2008: United Kingdom

Best bank: Abbey Best investment bank: Deutsche Bank

Santander has been working its magic on Abbey since it acquired the underperforming mortgage bank in 2004, and today the transformation into gutsy competitor to the biggest names in UK banking is complete.

Abbey’s cost to income ratio has fallen from 70% at the time of its acquisition to just 50% today and the bank, which now offers a broad range of fund management and corporate banking products, is posting profit and revenue growth about twice the rate of its peers.