Awards for excellence – Brazil

Best bank:

Banco Itaú

Best debt house:

Citigroup/Salomon Smith Barney

Best equity house:

UBS Warburg

Best M&A house:

JPMorgan

Banco Itaú is undoubtedly the best bank in Brazil, and quite possibly the best-run bank in Latin America. Its figures for the first quarter of 2001 were astounding: a net profit of $310 million and return on equity of 42%. Remember that Banco Itaú is a commercial bank, not an investment bank where returns on equity of 42% might be more achievable.

Partly for this reason, Banco Itaú has the largest market capitalization in Latin America, excluding the recently-acquired Banacci, despite the fact that its rival, Bradesco, has significantly more assets and equity.