Latin America’s investment banking rebound in 2025 surprised many market participants. It did not surprise JP Morgan.
Alfonso Eyzaguirre, the bank’s CEO for Latin America and Canada, says the region delivered an “above historical average type of year in terms of size of wallet,” even if the recovery was uneven by product and geography. Bond issuance dominated activity, driven partly by acquisition financings and sovereign funding needs, while equities lagged in most markets. JP Morgan, however, managed to lead across all major product lines.
That breadth of execution underpins its recognition as Investment Bank of the Year in Latin America.
According to Dealogic, JP Morgan ranked first in the regional wallet league table between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025, with a 13.1% market share. It was a leader or runner-up in debt capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets, posting one of the most balanced performances of any global house in the region.
Debt markets were the backbone of that result. Despite volatile rates and fragile global risk sentiment, JP Morgan maintained leadership across sovereign, financial and corporate issuance. Over the period, the bank executed more than 125 bond transactions in Latin America totaling approximately $26.7 billion in volume, ranking first in regional bonds with a 14.5% market share and second in high-yield bonds. It also led ESG issuance and remained the dominant house in local-currency markets.
The bank’s strategy of staying client-led allowed it to execute liability management, tender offers and debut issuances even during periods of market stress. Its role as sole structuring advisor and joint bookrunner on Mexico’s $12 billion pre-capitalized securities transaction marked the first P-Caps deal ever executed in emerging markets and the largest globally, creating a new sovereign financing tool while channeling support to Pemex.
On the loan side, JP Morgan played a pivotal role in reopening complex markets. It provided balance sheet commitments in Argentina for both acquisition and project finance, helping restore confidence in a country that had been largely shut out of international loan markets. The bank acted as joint lead arranger and bookrunner on Telecom Argentina’s acquisition of Telefónica Argentina and on VMOS’ $2.0 billion senior secured term loan to build a 437-kilometer oil export pipeline.
It also served as sole global coordinator on Arauco’s $2.2 billion Project Sucuriú financing and as sole arranger and lender on Panama’s $1 billion senior unsecured term loan facility. In El Salvador, JP Morgan acted as sole arranger and lender on a $1 billion loan and sole dealer manager on the country’s landmark debt-for-nature tender offer, the first of its kind for the sovereign.
These financings complemented a strong advisory franchise. Among the year’s most complex mandates was JP Morgan’s role as exclusive financial advisor to Grupo Argos on its approximately $2.7 billion spin-offs that dismantled cross-shareholdings with Grupo Sura. The bank also advised Telefónica on the $1.245 billion sale of its Argentine operations to Telecom Argentina and served as exclusive advisor to Marfrig on its merger with BRF, creating a $13.8 billion global multi-protein champion.
Cross-border execution further distinguished the franchise. JP Morgan advised El Puerto de Liverpool on its partnership with the Nordstrom family to take Nordstrom private and played a central role in acquisition financings, including Grupo Nutresa’s $2 billion senior unsecured bridge facility.
Geographically, performance was uneven. “For a combination of monetary reasons and political expectations, Brazil was disappointing in terms of activity,” Eyzaguirre says. “But Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Colombia and Peru did quite well.”
He adds that the turnaround is striking given that just two years earlier the region posted its weakest investment banking wallet in two decades. Looking ahead, he expects momentum to continue in 2026 as political shifts, interest-rate cuts and renewed investor confidence support capital formation.
“Our M&A pipeline looks very good,” he says. “Governments will still need to finance fiscal deficits, and debt deals tied to regular CapEx financing should start picking up as political uncertainty recedes.”
With first-place wallet rankings, prowess in bonds and loans and a portfolio of transactions that reshaped corporate and sovereign finance across the region, JP Morgan set the benchmark for Latin American investment banking in 2025.