CEE's best investment bank 2018: Citi

A stellar capital markets franchise, deepening advisory capability and extensive on-the-ground presence proved a winning combination for Citi in CEE investment banking.

In debt capital markets, a revival of activity across the region played to Citi’s strengths. As Eurobond issuance surged by a third to $91.1 billion, the highest level since 2013/14, the US firm regained the top spot among international banks in Dealogic’s rankings thanks to its impressive breadth of coverage.

In addition to maintaining a stranglehold on the Turkish Eurobond market and securing a sizeable chunk of strong flows from Russia, Citi won mandates on sovereign deals from every corner of the region – including Belarus’s dollar market return and Tajikistan’s debut international issue – as well as a clutch of corporate and financial institution transactions.

In the primary equity markets, a plethora of accelerated bookbuilds for Russian clients helped Goldman Sachs nudge Citi down to second place in the overall rankings. Citi’s record in IPOs, however, was unmatched.

Of the 14 deals the firm acted on in the awards period, eight were new listings spanning four jurisdictions.