Ireland

Best bank – Bank of Ireland
Best debt house – Barclays Capital
Best equity house – Davy Stockbrokers
Best M&A house – IBI Corporate Finance/Bank of Ireland
Best local partner – Goodbody

When Bank of Ireland’s bid for UK mortgage bank Abbey National fell flat, investors in the Irish institution breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t at all clear why Bank of Ireland would want to expand into the relatively slow-growth UK market when its Irish business is performing so strongly, with a 22.4%