IFR Awards 2021: Call for entries

We are inviting banks to pitch for the IFR Awards 2021.

The awards year runs from January 1 to December 31.

Last year the process of virtual pitches was highly effective and efficient. While coronavirus restrictions have been relaxed in some financial centres, we are keen to retain the benefits of a virtual approach so intend to take a hybrid approach, with a mix of video and in-person pitches.

The winners will be published at ifre.com on February 18 and in the Review of the Year supplement dated February 19.

We plan to present the awards at a full gala dinner in London in April 2022.

To help with our selections, banks, advisers and issuers may submit brief written presentations along with supporting data. IFR journalists will also organise pitch meetings. Pitching is entirely optional and consideration for an award will not be limited to advisers or issuers that participate in this way.

All written pitches should reach us by November 12, with pitch meetings in November and December.

We will continue to monitor the market until the end of the year and banks may submit addenda to include significant deals that price after submitting their pitches.

In your presentations for house awards you may want to summarise achievements in the awards year. For instance:

• How has your institution progressed over the course of the year?
• What strategic goals have been met?
• How have they been achieved?
• In what ways has your institution adapted to the trends that have driven market activity during the year?
• How has your institution supported clients through the coronavirus pandemic?
• What has been noteworthy about your deal roster, whether in terms of size, geographical and/or sectoral diversification, degree of innovation or complexity?

Presentations should include individual summaries of the main relevant transactions. Separate documents should be submitted for each major asset class.

Pitch meetings with IFR journalists are limited to a maximum of two hours per asset class. The contents of pitch meetings will be “on the record”, though comments can be made “off the record” if specifically stated at the time.

Pitch documents should be emailed to IFRAwards@refinitiv.com for Global, EMEA and Americas categories. Submissions for Asia-Pacific categories should be sent to daniel.stanton@refinitiv.com.

Please indicate for which awards you are pitching, giving appropriate contact details.

Final selections will be made by the senior editorial team.

Notes on award categories:

1) Banks do not need to be active across the whole region to be considered for regional house awards. Banks do not need to be active in all regions to qualify for global awards.

2) Only transactions where a firm is acting as a non-underwriting adviser are considered for Capital Markets Adviser.

3) M&A Adviser covers transactions completed in the awards year.

4) Bank for Financial Institutions, Governments and Financial Sponsors covers all capital markets activity across regions, from LME to rights issues, privatisations to century bonds, LBOs to IPOs and M&A and everything in between.

5) Bank for Sustainability will recognise a bank that puts ESG/sustainable issues at the heart of its business, as well as being active in related capital market financings.

6) ESG Financing House will recognise the pre-eminent bank in ESG underwriting across asset classes.

7) US Diversity & Inclusion House is given to a US-based minority, women or veteran-owned firm and covers activity across asset classes. The award recognises the commitment, performance and expertise of the firm in underwriting securities offerings.

8) For M&A-related financing, loans will only be considered if the M&A transaction has completed in the awards year, as it is at this point they are funded. Bonds need to have priced within the awards year but are not contingent on the M&A having also completed.

9) Financing Package represents one financing programme across asset classes but all parts need not have been executed concurrently.

10) Leveraged and Mid-Market Loans feed up into Loan House awards.

11) Bond awards do not embrace structured finance, which is treated separately.

12) Bond and Bond House awards for Financial, SSAR and Covered are cross-currency.

13) US Bond House comprises all US dollar issuance in the US, including Yankees.

14) Yankee bonds are those by European investment-grade corporates and financials in US dollar, excluding EM issuers.

15) Reverse yankees are bonds issued by US investment-grade corporates and financials in euros and sterling.

16) Only 144A and SEC-registered US dollar issues are eligible for US Bond and Yankee Bond awards.

17) SEC-registered and 144A deals from issuers based in emerging markets are included in Emerging Market categories (along with domestic bond issues, etc).

18) Regional Bond House awards are for any issuers in the relevant regional currencies, for example Europe Investment-Grade Corporate Bond awards are for investment-grade corporates in European currencies (including Eurodollars).

19) Yen Bond awards include Samurais.

20) Niche Market Bond is for bonds in non-core currencies or niche markets in major currencies, such as Formosa.

21) SPAC IPO House focuses on underwriting and structuring of cash shell IPOs rather than M&A on the back end.

22) Structured Equity comprises equity-linked transactions, including those with derivative components, and structured cash equity transactions. Structured Equity feeds up into Equity House awards.

23) Corporate equity derivatives feed into Equity Derivatives House.

24) Restructuring includes formal debt restructurings and balance sheet restructurings.

25) Middle East Bond House feeds up into Emerging EMEA Bond House.

All details and categories are available as a PDF here.

If you have any questions about the awards process, please contact:

Editor Matthew Davies, +44 20 4530 3050, m.davies@refinitiv.com

Deputy Editor Owen Wild, +44 20 4530 2517, owen.wild@refinitiv.com.

For Americas specific questions contact Stephen Lacey, +1 646 794 7390, stephen.lacey@refinitiv.com

In Asia-Pacific contact Daniel Stanton, +65 6929 9311 daniel.stanton@refinitiv.com

Details on the event will be available at ifrawards.com.