North American Regional Awards for Excellence

North America has been firmly at the centre of the global financial crisis. From March 2008 to the end of April 2009, it lost some of its most revered banking institutions as asset prices continued to decline. Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Washington Mutual, to name but a few, went bankrupt or were swallowed up by competitors, while those swallowing them faced their own issues. It is hard to believe that those banks involved in high-profile mergers and acquisitions, or continually concerned by falling share prices or government intervention, could fully focus on managing their clients’ risk simultaneously. This year’s winners in North America reflect those banks that stayed open for business while others closed their doors, providing solutions for clients that were suffering from their own internal crises.