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Best bank: BDO Best equity house and Best M&A house: UBS
Best debt house: Credit Suisse
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Last year BDO-EPCIB won the best bank in the Philippines award from perennial contender Bank of the Philippines Islands in recognition of the former’s strong results and the ambition of its merger, the largest in the country’s banking history. The newly merged entity, now called BDO, has almost completed the integration of Equitbale PCI bank and looks to be making a real success of the historic deal.
The takeover makes inherent sense in that BDO was strong in cities and malls, whereas EPCI had a stronger provincial presence and more penetration of Filipino-Chinese markets. BDO now has a much more extensive branch network and will benefit from EPCI’s traditional strengths in the middle market and in credit cards: by the end of 2007, with integration nearing completion, BDO’s total deposits grew to $10.8