BEST BANK
BNP Paribas
BEST DEBT HOUSE
BNP Paribas
BEST EQUITY HOUSE
SG
BEST M&A HOUSE
Rothschild
Despite SG being close on its tail, BNP Paribas has retained the best bank award as a result of its breadth of services for French individuals and corporates. With increased focus on client segmentation, BNP’s retail banking network continues to grow, with net income for the first quarter of 2005 up 8.6% on the same period in 2004 at €1.3 billion. In capital markets, BNP Paribas is one of the biggest players.
Joining forces with Exane in equity brokerage, the firm ranks first in the secondary market for institutional clients in French equities, and second only to SG in the league tables for equity deals. In M&A, BNP Paribas has been a key adviser in the largest French deals of the past 12 months, acting as adviser on Pernod Ricard’s acquisition of Allied Domecq.
In debt markets, BNP Paribas has had an excellent 12 months, driven by its presence in the syndicated loan market, earning itself the best debt house award – although SG CIB’s strengths in ABS and CDO markets deserve recognition.
The loan market has been in the spotlight as corporate bond activity waned while French companies deleveraged and refinanced their bank debt. BNP Paribas tops the league tables for loans, ahead of Calyon with 106 transactions for the year to the end of May. Significant loan transactions in which BNP Paribas acted as bookrunner included the €8 billion refinancing facility for Sanofi-Aventis, and the €20 billion bridge facility for Cades (Caisse d’Amortissement de la Dette Sociale) – Europe’s largest plain vanilla loan.
In the bond market, BNP Paribas ranks first as bookrunner for French issuers, just above SG CIB. It acted as a joint bookrunner on the €6 billion OAT for Agence France Trésor’s 50-year bond, the success of which has set a precedent for ultra-long-dated debt from both governments and corporates.
Although SG just missed out on the best debt house award, its capabilities in equity research and primary and secondary equity markets ensure it retains its position as best equity house. It places a great deal of emphasis on avoiding conflicts of interest, with its brokerage having stopped proprietary trading and its research team offering independent and often contrarian views. SG was number one broker on Euronext for 2003 and 2004, and ranks top of the league tables for primary issuance in France. It was a joint bookrunner in the privatization of France Telecom in September 2004 – the largest accelerated bookbuilt offering in dollar terms to date.
Rothschild takes the best M&A house award this year. It has advised on the most deals, notched up the largest volume, and has demonstrated commitment to the French market by advising small, medium and large enterprises across a range of sectors. It advised on the highly successful merger of aerospace group Snecma and telecoms equipment group Sagem. In addition it has been prominent in private equity domestically, as well as participating in cross-border transactions including an €14.3 billion tender offer for Edison by ETF and partners.
