| WESTERN EUROPE |
| Best Bank: Santander |
| Best Investment Bank: JPMorgan |
| Best M&A Adviser: JPMorgan |
| Best Equity House: Bank of America Merrill Lynch |
| Best Debt House: BNP Paribas |
| Best Risk Adviser: Deutsche Bank |
| Best at FX: Deutsche Bank |
| Best at Cash Management: Deutsche Bank |
| Best at Project Finance: BNP Paribas |
In Europe, Santander stands out as one of the strong banks to which more has been given. From the crisis that convulsed the banking system in the past 12 months, it has emerged with positions in two of the continent’s largest economies, the UK and Germany, substantially bolstered by acquisitions from failing or retreating competitors.
Before the UK banking system almost collapsed last year, the Spanish bank had already made impressive strides in overhauling Abbey, replacing the bank’s systems so as to reduce the cost-income ratio, thus enabling it to compete for deposits at market-beating rates.