Awards for Excellence 2020
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The Covid-19 crisis has emphasized the importance of banks that can stand by their clients and bring them funding in the toughest times. Euromoney’s best bank for financing in Western Europe, BNP Paribas, has stepped up to a greater extent than peers, especially on a pan-European level – although its achievements this year go beyond the coronavirus response.
In Western Europe, the bank, led by corporate and institutional banking head Yann Gérardin, increased its market share in Dealogic’s equity and debt bookrunner rankings in the year to the end of March and it continued sit at the top of the syndicated loan league table for that period.
In March and April 2020, its market share in syndicated loans rose to more than double that of its nearest rival.
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Yann Gérardin |
During the coronavirus crisis BNPP was sole underwriter of syndicated loans amounting to $10 billion for BP, €3 billion for Safran and €2.5 billion for Saint Gobain. It led key post-coronavirus loan financings in Germany for firms including Bosch, Daimler and Siemens. It led the Europe’s first corporate bond issuance after the coronavirus crash, for Unilever.
Even before coronavirus struck, BNPP had made progress in equity capital markets, notably acting as global coordinator on the €1.7 billion IPO of Française des Jeux and the €987 million IPO of Veralia. It led key Swiss IPOs for Stadler Rail and SoftwareOne, and four deals (two convertibles and two rights issues) for Spain’s Cellnex.
Last but not least, BNPP continued to build its sustainable finance unit, with deals such as Enel’s ground-breaking Sustainable Development Goal-linked bond and an equally ground-breaking energy transition deal in the UK for Cadent Gas.
Sparebank’s €500 million inaugural green bond was an example of its sustainable finance franchise and of its wide-ranging financial institutions business.
