Best bank
ICICI Bank Best equities house
Goldman Sachs/Kotak Mahindra
Best debt house
Standard Chartered Bank
Best M&A house
Citigroup
ICICI Bank?s results for fiscal year 2003 speak for themselves. Net profit was up 36%, interest income up 32% and fee income up 38%. Retail assets rose by 74% and deposits by 4%.
ICICI is India?s second largest bank, but easily the best managed. It has a network of 450 branches and offices and 1,750 ATMs. Its leading position is perhaps best indicated by the success of its maiden bond offering in October 2003. It was the first to be issued by an Indian borrower on the international capital markets for six years, and was five times oversubscribed.
The joint venture between Goldman Sachs and Kotak Mahindra (GSKM) is the clear market leader in both the primary and secondary equity markets, completing 14 deals worth $1.6 billion. It has a market share of almost 24% and raised more capital from more issues than any other bank.
Key deals were the Rs107 billion ($2.3 billion) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation privatization, which totalled around $14 billion. Also notable were the Rs.9.9 billion privatization of Maruti Udyog and the $294 million ADR issue by Infosys Technologies.
In the secondary market, GSKM continues to hold the number one position in both cash equities and derivatives, with market shares of 5% and 4% respectively.
This is the third year in a row that Standard Chartered Bank has won the best debt house award. The bank?s acquisition of Grindlays Bank in 2000 provided a comprehensive local market presence, and it has capitalized on this. SCB was the leading bookrunner of all rupee bonds in 2003, with a market share of 15.1% and in the first quarter of 2004 it took a market share of 17.9%. It also ranks as the fourth-largest arranger of syndicated loans, with a market share of 9.1%.
Key deals included the Rs1 billion debenture issued by Cholamandalam Investment and Finance. SCB also raised a Rs2.85 billion debenture for LIC Housing, the first 15-year bond by the issuer and one of few such tenors in the market.
SCB has been successful in US dollar funding for Indian credits, arranging the first US dollar term loan facility for Bank of India and completing a $200 million syndicated term loan for Indian Oil Corporation.
Citigroup tops the M&A league tables with a market share of 27%. The bank advised on 13 deals for a total value of $1.5 billion. Notable deals that demonstrate its capabilities, and especially its cross-border expertise, include the open offer by Hewlett-Packard to buy the remaining shares in Digital Globalsoft; the acquisition by Infosys Technologies of Australian company Expert Information Services; and the acquisition by US-based Bunge Limited of the edible oils business of Hindustan Lever. On all of these transactions, Citigroup acted for the buy side, demonstrating its ability to drive and conclude M&A transactions.
