LatinFinance - November/December 2016 - 50

INVESTMENT BANK OF THE YEAR
CHILE

INVESTMENT BANK OF THE YEAR
COLOMBIA

BANCHILE-CITI

BANCA DE INVERSIÓN
BANCOLOMBIA

Despite losing key
executives this year,
Banchile-Citi remains a
leader in debt and equity
capital markets
transactions in Chile
Banchile-Citi had a strong year in
Chile's capital markets. In the 12 months
to the end of June, it led the loan market
league table, with a 21.5% market share,
after granting $325 million in credits. In
the bond markets, Banchile-Citi worked
on deals totaling $650 million, giving it a
10.6% market share. Banchile-Citi worked
on $4.59 billion worth of mergers and
acquisitions, giving it a 21.2% market
share, although its ranking fell year on
year.
The numbers reflect the bank's ability
to put its expertise to work on a variety of
transactions in the local market. BanchileCiti helped Quiñenco place some $200
million in long-term bonds in the local
market in June. It led a $500 million
capital increase in the equity capital
markets for local financial institution
Banco de Crédito e Inversiones (BCI).
And it co-managed a $100 million equity
offering from local shopping mall operator
Parque Arauco.
The strong league table performance
came in spite of a shift at the top of the
institution.
Banchile-Citi lost two key investment
banking executives in 2016. Jorge
Muñoz left as the general manager of the
investment banking division Banchile
Asesoría Financiera, and was replaced
by Alfonso Yáñez. And Andrés Bucher
stepped down as head of the brokerage
unit Banchile Corredores de Bolsa, with
Andrés Ergas named as his successor.
Banchile Citi's ability to remain
one of Chile's most active investment
banks during a year of change makes it
LatinFinance's Investment Bank of the
Year Chile for 2016.LF

50 LATINFINANCE.COM - November/December 2016

JEAN-PIERRE SERANI, BANCA DE
INVERSIÓN BANCOLOMBIA

This bank leveraged its
capabilities across markets
to lead important capital
raising exercises for local
companies

"WHILE THE
ECONOMIC CYCLE
HAS HURT FISCAL
INCOMES, OTHER
AREAS SUCH AS M&A
AND ADVISORY HAVE
IMPROVED"

Despite the slowdown in Colombia's
economy, Bancolombia's investment
banking arm participated in some of Latin
America's largest transactions across
different asset classes in the year under
review.
The investment banking team, which
employs around 65 people, excelled
in lending and financial advisory,
while the bank built a presence in asset
management, says Jean-Pierre Serani,
president of Bancolombia's investment
banking division.
"The combination of advisory, sales
and trading and asset management and
our strong commercial ties enable us to
successfully execute deals," he says. "In
asset management we are the largest
player, excluding the pension funds."
A year ago the bank established a highyield bond fund denominated in local
currency that now manages about 500
billion pesos ($168.15 million) in assets,
Serani says. It followed earlier this year
with another fund, this time in partnership
with US asset manager BlackRock. Serani
says the growth in savings by Colombian
people and corporates has outpaced the
volume of assets available for acquisition,
stressing the need to diversify.
"We have to find ways to reach global
markets," Serani says. "We need alliances
to do this and what better way than
forming an alliance with the largest asset
manager in the world."
In local debt capital markets,
Bancolombia coordinated a 1 trillion
peso, four-tranche bond issue for insurer
Suramericana. The heavily subscribed
deal was the largest in Colombia's bond
market.
The bank also led a 300 billion peso
local bond for power company Isagen in
September. Investor demand was high,
enabling Bancolombia to tighten pricing

by 51 basis points, Serani says.
In Central America, where Bancolombia
has teams in Panama, El Salvador and
Guatemala, its structured finance arm led
a club of banks in a $525 million amortizing
loan for power company AES, which was
then syndicated among commercial and
multilateral lenders.
Bancolombia has also been part of the
country's 4G infrastructure program,
advising local construction firms Odinsa,
Mincivil and El Condor on the 1.37 trillion
peso Pacífico 2 toll road.
The investment in the country's
infrastructure comes at a time when
other sectors such as oil and gas have
slowed down. Serani says it's important
to capitalize on this opportunity in both
advisory and lending capacities.
"A counter-cyclical element is at
play, given some parts of the economy
have slowed down," he says. "While the
economic cycle has hurt fiscal incomes,
other areas such as M&A and advisory have
improved."
Serani says some companies need to
consolidate, while others need capital,
calling for both M&A and primary markets
expertise.
There is still work to be done however.
Colombian companies have been
absent from the primary equity markets
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