Awards for excellence – North America

BEST BANK*
JPMorgan Chase

BEST DEBT HOUSE*
Lehman Brothers

BEST EQUITY HOUSE*
Merrill Lynch

BEST M&A HOUSE*
Goldman Sachs

BEST PROJECT FINANCE HOUSE
Goldman Sachs

BEST AT RISK MANAGEMENT
Deutsche Bank

BEST AT CASH MANAGEMENT
Citigroup

BEST AT INVESTOR SERVICES
State Street

               *Also best in the US

US financial markets shuddered after the recent upheaval in the credit markets but overall the preceding 18 months were a good year for banking and investment banking. Lending picked up, though there remained more supply than demand for the most part. Private-equity, equity and corporate advisory businesses picked up and debt capital markets remained solid, even if new issuance was dominated by financial institutions; corporate credit quality continued to improve.