The Singapore-based lender has established a new benchmark for SME banking

The Spanish group’s retail footprint makes it uniquely qualified to address unbanked, underbanked and financially vulnerable individuals.

In a period of unprecedented volatility and disruption, Goldman Sachs has led the field in innovative financing solutions for clients.

A flurry of new services, including DBS Digital Exchange and Climate Impact X, have kept the Singaporean lender in pole position.

A firm famous for its elite connections, aggressive corporate culture and extreme working hours might not seem an obvious candidate for this award, but it is the right one.

Diversification and a more relationship-focused approach to clients helped Goldman Sachs grow its markets business more than any of its big rivals over the awards period.

The French bank’s innovative and collaborative approach to data is central to its sustainable finance strategy.

It’s a sign of a well-run bank when it not only survives a pandemic largely unscathed but uses it as an opportunity to gain ground. Characteristically, DBS’s Piyush Gupta not only kept the bank on course but used the crisis to make two potentially transformative acquisitions, launch two new exchanges and think afresh about what banking should look like.

In a year when the race to net zero really got under way, biodiversity protection rose to the top of the agenda and Covid exacerbated the need for social support, one bank stood out for innovation, breadth of coverage and rigorous use of data

Bank of America’s integrated and pioneering approach to corporate responsibility has paid off again this year.

The firm leads in big, transformational M&A and sees advising on the sell side of Spac mergers as a hedge if regulators crack down on mega-deals.

Technology keeps BofA at the vanguard of payments. Covid-19 drove both deposits and innovation at the US bank.

Euromoney’s inaugural award for innovation goes to a groundbreaking issue of digital native tokens on a public blockchain in a syndicated bond deal that drew interest from 100 investors. While institutional money flows into crypto and DeFi, leading banks and issuers are now also keen to transform traditional markets with digital assets and digital cash.

Renowned for its prudence and conservatism, the bank was in a strong position going into the pandemic. Investment in digital banking and risk management make it well placed to thrive once the crisis is over.

The great financial innovator shone again in global wealth management.

In a tough year, quality and quantity mattered to the public sector. BNP Paribas offered both.

After merging with Bankia, CaixaBank has become the undisputed champion of Spanish retail banking. At a time when the sector is facing profound challenges, it’s already on the way to realizing crucial cost savings. Euromoney talks to executive chairman José Ignacio Goirigolzarri and chief executive Gonzalo Gortázar about this transformational merger.

The US bank has turned pandemic-inspired strategic conversations with companies into mandates.

A full range of best-in-class products, strong advisory capabilities and global reach are more important than ever in post-pandemic corporate banking.

Strength in equity capital markets and M&A, as well as a close relationship with the bank’s tech team, has created a winning formula this year.

The bank is keen to get started on taking the tough decisions needed to achieve net zero.

Under the leadership of James Gorman, Morgan Stanley has reshaped its business mix in ways that it thinks will position it for a world in which its clients need more connectivity than ever. Driving that process in its investment bank is co-president Ted Pick.

JPMorgan was not the only bank that came into the Covid crisis with a strong balance sheet, but, as in 2008, the bank has shown that its diverse business lines and fortress balance sheet are what distinguishes it from the pack.

As the world’s financial markets went into crisis in 2020, Citi showed it had the capital strength and global reach to keep its clients in business

The firm didn’t foresee the coronavirus crisis when it decided to pivot its investment bank more explicitly towards clients than ever before. But as so often, its timing could not have been better

Wholehearted commitment and revamped leadership have helped Barclays find a new vigour in its markets division.

Across every sector and region HSBC stands out for its commitment to developing partnerships and products that will bring finance at scale to create a more sustainable and resilient planet.

The Swiss bank stands apart from its peers. It helped its clients profit, both in the serene waters of 2019 and in the wake left by Covid-19 as it spread across the world in 2020

With its unique model of direct lending to microfinance institutions and bringing large investors to the table, BNP Paribas has put financial inclusion at the heart of its agenda.

Covid-19 has not simply accelerated the push to digital but has also changed the nature of transaction banking itself.