M&A

André Esteves has exceeded plenty of expectations on his way up the Brazilian investment banking ladder.

The past 12 months have seen capital markets activity and M&A pick up in Mexico following a crisis-inspired lull.

Leveraging deep and long-standing corporate relationships has been a successful strategy throughout the global financial crisis for Bancolombia.

Banco de Bogotá has spent the last year rolling out a variety of new products and services in Colombia as it pursues a universal bank strategy, while also making moves cross-border.

Chile-based investment bank Celfín Capital has seized the boom in 2010 as an opportunity to push it into the big leagues.

Santander Río’s strength in retail contributes significantly to it being the most profitable private financial institution in Argentina, says Guillermo Glattstein, strategic planning manager at the bank.

With economic growth returning to Guatemala after a relatively shallow crisis, its banks can return to plans being made prior to 2008.

Santander has spent the last year and a half digesting its $175 million 2008 acquisition of ABN AMRO, a deal it says has made it the largest private bank in Uruguay, with over 30% of the assets.