Barclays won the Group One (G1) overall borrower rankings this year. The UK bank was also top in the EMEA and in Asia-Pacific lists, across the weighted and unweighted sections. It was also the top-rated borrower by G1 lenders in EMEA and in Asia. However, the European borrower dropped to third place when given overall scores by G2 lenders, behind Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs. It consistently finished in the top four in the regional rankings, when rated by G2 lenders.

US bank Goldman Sachs was recognised in second place in the global borrower rankings, having not been featured in the top six borrowers last year. The borrower dropped to fifth place in the Americas rankings but was second and third in EMEA and Asia-Pacific respectively. It was awarded fourth place by G1 lenders in the overall rankings, third in Asia-Pacific and fifth in EMEA. It did not feature in the Americas lists.

Another European institution, UBS, closed the top three group of G1 borrowers, having come first in 2021. When rated by G1 lenders, it returned in first place in the Americas this year. It came second in EMEA and third overall. It consistently finished in the top four borrowers in all regions, and was featured in all lists in the G1 borrower category except when rated by G2 lenders.

Canada’s RBC Capital Markets came top in the Americas G1 borrower rankings, ahead of Bank of America Merrill Lynch in second place. It was sixth in 2021. It was in second place in the Americas unweighted group when rated by its larger lenders. It came fifth in the same region when G2 lenders where concerned.

HSBC came in second place in the Asia-Pacific G1 borrower rankings, an improvement on last year’s fifth place. It was also number two in Asia-Pacific and in the overall list when taking into account G1 lender ratings, both better than last year’s placements.

In fifth place, Bank of America Merrill Lynch made an appearance in this year’s overall rankings, having been featured only when rated by G2 lenders last year. It came second in the Americas behind RBC Capital Markets.

The G1 borrower rankings are part of the ISF Survey, 2022 edition, which can be accessed in the Autumn 2022 magazine here. Equity lender results can be accessed here and here. We will be releasing part 2 of the borrower rankings tomorrow, fixed income lenders on Wednesday, and tech and data vendors on Thursday.