LatinFinance - November/December 2014 - 57

In loans, BIB joined a $215 million loan to
Grupo Romero subsidiary Grupo Palmas as
mandated lead arranger; and came in at the
same level on a $577.5 million acquisition
financing for Advent International's
purchase of a minority stake in pipeline
company Ocensa.
In the months ahead, M&A transactions
dominate the investment bank's pipeline,
while it is also working on more than a
dozen loans, Jaramillo says. He expects a
pick-up in acquisitions in Central America,
a region he describes as having a lot of
untapped potential. Deal sizes in the region
tend to be smaller than in the rest of Latin
America, but he is optimistic about the
prospects.
"The case with Central America is that
there are many family-owned companies,"
Jaramillo says. "And some don't have a
succession plan. So when you go with
a good Colombian corporate you can
incentivize the sale."
The country will see fewer bond or
equity sales compared to loans and M&A,
he says. That's in part a result of the "very
short list of potential issuers", but also a
function of a mismatch in expectations
between Colombia's institutional investors
and corporates. LF

INVESTMENT BANK OF THE YEAR
CHILE

BANCHILE-CITI

A strong local position
coupled with links to a
global group put
Banchile-Citi at an
advantage at a time of flux
for Chilean investment
banking
After years of rapidly increasing revenues,
investment banks in Chile may be heading
for some less lucrative years to come.
Between 2010 and 2013, annual
investment banking revenue in Chile rose
consistently, reaching $208 million in 2013,
according to Dealogic. In the first half of
2014, however, revenue stood at just $60
million, a 34% fall year-on-year. Equity
issuance in the first half of 2014 was barely a
third of its level in the same period last year.
"Our view is that we're going to have a

disappointing 2014," says Jorge Muñoz,
Banchile-Citi's chief executive, discussing
the local investment banking industry
as a whole. "Unless there is real need for
investment, 2015 will be a quiet market."
But in this environment, Banchile-Citi
has fared exceptionally well, even against
its strongest rivals.
The firm has consolidated its position
at the top of the bond rankings. The unit
managed a rare Latin American corporate
hybrid deal in December: a $450 million
offering for Chilean electricity firm AES
Gener. The momentum later continued
with $1.1 billion debut bond that the
investment bank managed for another
local power firm, GNL Quintero.
The bank was also the number one
equity bookrunner in the awards period.
An $830 million secondary offering for
Banco de Chile, the country's biggest
lender, went ahead amid an emergingmarket sell-off in January, largely thanks to
local investors, which took 70% of the deal.
Banchile's position as one of biggest local
brokers was a factor.
Looking forward, Muñoz predicts
investment banking activity for Chilean
consumer-focused companies will be more
subdued. Chile's economy has experienced

CON NUESTRA REGIÓN Y NUESTROS CLIENTES
US$ 8.207 millones*

en financiamiento aprobado a empresas
privadas en América Latina y el Caribe

Más de 800 préstamos directos*

otorgados a PYME e intermediarios financieros

7.000 empresas entrenadas

para gestionar negocios competitivos
sostenibles**

www.iic.org
@IICinfo

*Total acumulado al 2013
** Desde 2007

November/December 2014 - L ATINFINA NCE.COM 57
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LatinFinance - November/December 2014

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