Citi Leads DCM at Halfway Point

Citi led the LatAm DCM tables through the end of June, according to Dealogic, followed by HSBC and Itau. The US bank booked $12.6bn in volume from 52 deals in the first half when cross-border and local market deals are considered, ahead of HSBC ($8.2bn from 42) and Itau ($6.9bn from 41). Citi also claimed the lead when cross-border deals only are considered ($7.4bn), and when local market deals only are considered ($5.1bn). “Business has become fungible across product lines in the region, and we move pretty fluidly from one type of issuance to the other. Issuers are pretty agnostic about what they do, they just want the best terms,” Chris Gilfond, co-head of LatAm DCM at Citi, tells LatinFinance. Overall volume in the market remained on a pace to top last year’s record regional total. Cross-border volume in the region reached $54.2bn in 1H 2012, up from $45.3bn in 1H 2011, and marked the highest half-year volume on record, boosted by an aggressive first quarter. Volume with local market deals included was also higher, hitting $79.9bn, compared to $72.9bn in the corresponding period of 2011. “There is a really solid pipeline of business that should get done. It may need to wait a month or two in terms of finding the right window, but I’d expect something like second quarter volume in the third quarter,” Gilfond says. He expects DCM volume this year to exceed 2011’s total, both in terms of cross-border volume and combined cross-border and local market volume. In particular, appetite for global local-currency transactions should return, with deals appearing in between bouts of volatility. Brazil, Mexico and Peru led the region in 1H 2012, accounting for 54%, 22% and 6% of total volume respectively, Dealogic says. Citi also led in terms of DCM revenue, booking $52m, or 16.7% of the fee pool. The bank was followed by HSBC and JPMorgan, with $26m (8.5%) each.