Chile

BEST BANK
Santander Santiago

BEST DEBT HOUSE
Citigroup

BEST M&A HOUSE
JPMorgan

There are now two big banks in Chile, Santander Santiago and Banco Chile. Santander started off the year bigger and better, and only improved over the course of 2004: it increased its loan porfolio by 13.1%, with loans to individuals up 22.3% and loans to small and medium-size enterprises up 20.7%. Deposits rose even faster, and past-due loans fell a very impressive 19.3%. Its net income of $355 million easily beat Chile’s $273 million, and its return on assets of 1.87%