Awards and Recognition

Several landmark RMB deals in securitisation, infrastructure and project finance have received local and international recognition. RMB has been publicly recognised in many areas and RMB is consistently rated number one - often for consecutive years - in a wide variety of areas, a few mentioned below:

Talk Radio 702 - Hero acknowledgement - November 2009

RMB’s Bankers without Borders television advertisement was awarded the prestigious HERO acknowledgement on Talk Radio 702’s Ad Feature show this week.

Andy Rice, a well-respected industry critic, commended the RMB ad for being a good idea coming together with both good copy and a good visual - proof that ‘you don’t need clever stunts to get across your message’. "This is an example that you don’t need to be overly clever in advertising. A good, simple idea, on strategy, will always beat anything else hands-down... A simple idea, simply expressed” --- Andy Rice --

Spire Awards - 4 November 2009

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) was among the top three recipients in 14 out of 20 categories in the JSE annual Spire awards, at a ceremony in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

The Spire awards recognise excellent individuals and teams who contribute to the bond market in South Africa. Voters for the award recipients include clients and bond issuers. RMB came first in four categories: Best repo team category; Best inflation-linked debt house; Best general fixed income analyst; and Best interest-rate derivatives sales and structuring team. It was awarded second place in eight categories (Best fixed-income house; Best bond trading house; Best derivative trading house; Best research house; Best bond sales team; Best primary markets house; Best interest rate derivatives trading team; and Best quantitative analyst) and third in two (Best bond price making team and Best credit analyst).

Since the inception of the Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA) Spire Awards, RMB has consistently featured amongst the winning companies.

Previous years:

2008: Best derivative trading team; Best derivative trading house; Best bond trading house; Best research house; Best fixed-income house; Best Inflation-Linked Debt House; Best bond repo team; Best derivatives sales and structuring trading team and Best general fixed-income research (Theuns de Wet)
2007: Best derivatives sales and structuring trading team; Best general fixed-income research; Best securitisation team; Best origination team; Best primary markets house; Best inflation-linked debt house
2006: Best securitisation team; Best Interest Rate Derivatives House; Best Inflation-Linked Debt House

2009 Africa Investor Infrastructure Awards - 27 October 2009

Congratulations to our Infrastructure Finance team who won the category Social Infrastructure Deal of the Year for the Department of International Relations and Co-operation Public-Private Partnership.

RMB played the role of lead arranger and underwriter of the senior debt and is also a shareholder in the consortium. It was the first PPP to be owned by majority BEE and women-owned companies, and included a lender as a minority shareholder. It was also the first SA PPP to use CPIX-linked senior debt.

Africa Investor, a leading international investment research and communications group, designed the Awards to highlight and profile exceptional business practices and economic achievements across the infrastructure spectrum in Africa. They recognise innovative projects and reward the personalities who are driving transactions and improving the continent’s infrastructure investment climate.

Risk Magazine - 2009

RMB won seven out of 23 awards in the Risk magazine SA Derivatives Dealer Survey 2009. It was rated 2nd or 3rd in nearly all the remaining categories (except for two where it came 4th). Winning categories include: overall winner in the currency, commodity and equity categories; as well as product winners for: interest rate swaps; inflation; USD/ZAR currency swaps and USDIZAR currency options. RMB was second overall for Risk management advisory as well as FRA's, SA equity index options, exotic equity options, equity derivatives, warrants & credit default swaps.

Previous years:

2007: Best Interest Rate Options
2007: Best Forward Rate Agreements
2007: Best Currency Options
2007: Best Metals House
2006: Best ZAR Interest Rate Options House
2006: Forward Rate Agreements
2006: Best Metals House

Rand Merchant Bank wins key investment banking awards - 9 June 2009

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) won all four of the key investment banking category awards in the Peer Review of the 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers survey Strategic and Emerging Issues in South African Banking.

RMB was judged by its peers as being the most successful bank for: BEE deals; listings; mergers & acquisitions; and structured finance. The peers who rated RMB included executives and CEOs from 11 domestic and 12 foreign banks. The Peer Review and Survey is conducted every two years and RMB has in prior years consistently been rated first across most investment banking categories. “The investment banking world has changed dramatically over the last year. We are extremely grateful to our peers for once again voting us leaders in investment banking in South Africa,” says investment banking co-head Peter Hayward-Butt.

“We continue to offer our clients innovative solutions to their financial needs, combined with our traditional values,” says investment banking co-head Rob Hamer. “We are delighted that our peers recognise us as fulfilling our aspirations.”

Financial Mail Ranking the Analysts 2009

RMB's Financial Markets Research Team achieved excellent results at the annual Financial Mail Ranking the Analysts 2009 awards.

Bulent Badsha - 1st in the Fixed Interest Securities category
Jana Kershaw and Elena Ilkova - 3rd in the Credit Analysis category
Sales and Trading teams - 3rd in Fixed Interest Dealing category
RMB - 2nd in company rating

Ernst & Young

1st in M&A deals- ranked top advisor on highest value of M&A deals - 2008
2nd in M&A survey - 60% of all BEE deals last year in terms of value - 2007
Ranked top corporate financier - M&A review (deal value of R42bn)- 2004
Ranked top corporate financier - M&A reviews - 1997 to 2001

DealMakers Awards

2008

'Deal of the Year 2008' -Richemont Remgro restructuring
Mergers and acquisitions: transaction value 2008
General corporate finance: transaction flow 2008
Private Equity: Deal of the Year 2008 - Alstom
'Deal of the Year 2008' -Richemont Remgro restructuring
'DealMaker of the Year 2008' - Paul Roelofse

Previous years:

2nd - Mergers and acquisitions: transaction value 2007
2nd - Mergers and acquisitions: transaction flow 2007
3rd - General corporate finance: transaction flow 2007
2nd - Sponsor: transaction value; and 4th - Sponsor: transaction flow 2007
M&A Dealmaker of the Year 2006
M&A Dealmaker of the Year 2005
M&A Dealmaker of the Year 2004

Project Finance Magazine awards

Rand Merchant Bank wins awards for infrastructure finance deals - 12 February 2009

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has won two awards for infrastructure deals done in 2008 from UK-based Project Finance Magazine, which covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa. RMB won the Africa Public Private Partnership (PPP) Deal of the Year for the Lekki Epe Expressway in Lagos, Nigeria and the Africa Refinancing Deal of the Year for structuring the refinancing of the N3 toll road between Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Euromoney awards

2008: Best M&A House in Africa
2008: Best Investment Bank in South Africa
2007: Best Local Bank (ZAR)
2005: EMEA Telecoms deal of the year (Vee Networks)
2002: Best Debt House in South Africa 'Awards for Excellence'
2002: Africa Health PPP Deal of the Year (Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital)
2002: Best Securitisation of Emerging Market Assets (Fresco 1 (synthetic collateralised loan obligation))
2000/1: Joint Best Debt House
1999: African Transport Deal of the Year (N3 toll road)

African Investor Awards

RMB wins Africa Investor Magazine's* 'Infrastructure Deal of the Year'; 2007 - Joint private finance of the US$3.4 bn Gautrain high speed rail link.
*The Africa Investor Awards are seen as the international benchmark for excellence in responsible investing in Africa, recognising the achievements of the private sector across wide-ranging sectors and disciplines, attracting market leaders from across the continent.

ISO9001 Accreditation

First bank in Africa to obtain accreditation in Rand Account Services (RAS), Foreign Exchange and Trade Services.

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Strategic and Emerging Issues in South African Banking (2007 Edition) - peer ratings

1st: M&A - 2007
1st: BEE deals - 2007
1st: Structured Finance - 2007
top 3 in Corporate banking; Listings; Money markets and Commercial property finance - 2007
1st: FirstRand - BEE deals, listings, mergers and acquisitions, structured finance, vehicle financing and private equity investments - 2005
1st: Structured finance, private equity and corporate finance – listings - 2002

Banker Magazine's Deal of the Year (Africa) 2007

US$1.1 bn Kumba Resources BEE (black economic empowerment) transaction has been rated as The Banker magazine's 'Deal of the Year 2007' for both South Africa and Africa.

Other awards

Best Project Award: Magic Flute 2007 – BASA (Business Day/Business Arts South Africa)
Top BEE Financier Award 2004 – BusinessMap
Africa Health PPP Deal of the Year 2002 – International Project Finance (Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital)
Best Company to Work For 2000 to 2005 – Deloitte & Touche (1st in 2000 and in the top 7 for the six years that RMB has participated)
Top Strategic Sponsorship 2002 - Business Day/ BASA Arts Sponsorship Awards (Starlight Classics Series)
Best Merchant Bank 2001– Financial Mail
Africa Deal of the Year 2000 – IFR Privatisation International - The Kutama Sinthumule Maximum Security Prison (formerly Louis Trichardt Maximum Security Prison) Project (largest privately run prison in the world)
Creator of SA’s futures market - RMB single-handedly created and developed the futures market in South Africa in the 1980’s before handing it over to the regulatory authorities, who then formalised it.