LatinFinance - September/October 2015 - 108

client and will also look to leverage external
resources from international peers.
"It's about tailoring the best solution for
each client. Structures might be different
according to the size and complexity of each
transaction," adds Laub. "It's about what's
more convenient to the sponsor, not about
what's more comfortable to us. The logic is:
what's the best for the client and how can
we serve it." LF

BEST INFRASTRUCTURE BANK: MEXICO

BANCO SANTANDER
During its 18-year tenure in Mexico,
Santander has structured and executed
deals for some of the largest infrastructure projects in the country, and Latin
America. The bank's pivotal role in financing Mexico's growing gas pipeline network
through the Ramones II Norte pipeline is
extraordinary, however.
The Los Ramones pipelines are expected
to extend from the US-Mexico border to
central Mexico, delivering fuel that is critical
to the country's industrial and economic
growth. With sponsors Pemex and IENova

LatAm PF staffers: 18
LatAm offices: Mexico City
Head banker: Alejandro de la Vega,
head of project finance
Remarkable deals: Ramones II
Sur, Ramones II Norte, Red de
Carreteras del Occidente

facing a three-month timeline to secure
financing, Santander agreed to underwrite
the entire $1.275 billion deal for the Ramones
II Norte pipeline, a highly unusual and
competitive move in a market that has
adhered almost exclusively to the club deal
format since the financial crisis in 2008.
"We said the only way you can do it
is for us to underwrite and disburse and
syndicate. That's why they hired us. We
were under a lot of pressure to do it," said
Alejandro de la Vega, head of Santander's
project finance business in Mexico, of the
underwriting risk.
In addition to the novelty of underwriting
and the tight timeline, the deal was also
the largest project financing to be signed
under Mexican law, adding an extra layer of
complexity for lenders that are accustomed

108 LATINFINANCE.COM - September/October 2015

to New York law. However, once the
challenge was surpassed and the savings
in legal fees realized, De la Vega says the
deal is likely a precedent for future project
financings in Mexico.
"We always seek to be the main bank
and work on the main operations in the
country," says De la Vega. "We are very
well-positioned in the sector and we have a
local platform that allows us to compete in a
significant way." LF

As the country's government looks
to trim spending on BNDES, local
commercial lenders with project finance
and debt capital markets savvy such as Itaú
will become increasingly vital for tackling
the region's demand for infrastructure
development. "With BNDES reducing
participation, we need to look for
innovation in order to replace their role
and come up with alternatives for project
financing," Zoffman says. LF

BEST INFRASTRUCTURE BANK: BRAZIL

BEST INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING
BANK: LATIN AMERICA

ITAÚ BBA
With 15 years of experience in project
finance, Itaú BBA continues to prove its
pedigree in an evolving asset class.
The bank committed roughly $312
million across eight transactions in Latin
America during the first half of 2015,
eclipsing Brazilian counterparts Banco do
Brasil, which completed three deals and
BTG Pactual, which recorded $196 million
in lending commitments across nine deals.
Transactions include the $727 million
deal backing the five-farm Enel Brasil wind
complex and the $911 million financing
for the São Lourenço water project that
included a 51-mile pipeline from the
Cachoeira do França reservoir to the São
Paulo water treatment station.
In an increasingly complex market, Itaú
has had to navigate infrastructure deals
carefully as many companies connected to
the industry are still dealing with the impacts
of Petrobras' corruption scandal. Alberto
Zoffmann, Itaú's global head of project
finance, says the bank performs strict due
diligence into infrastructure projects.
"An issue in Brazil's infrastructure sector
right now is the heavy concentration
among a few companies. It's important
to introduce new players into the market
so the risk is more spread out among
companies," Zoffman says.

LatAm offices: Major Brazilian cities
Brazil staffers: 3,000
Head bankers: Alberto Zoffman,
global head of project finance
Remarkable deals: São Lourenço
water project, Enel Brasil wind
farm, Cachoeira do França pipeline

SUMITOMO MITSUI
BANKING CORPORATION
Luis Fernando Perdigon's designation as a
co-head of project finance Latin America at
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. this July is
just the latest iteration of the bank's steady
development of its Latin America project
finance business over the past several
years.
"The bank made a management
decision to invest in Latin America. That's
reflected not only in all of this growth in
terms of human resources, but also in
terms of credit approvals and new offices,"
says Perdigon, who joined the New York
office after launching the bank's post in
Bogotá. "And it's not only about the project
finance team. It's a decision of the bank

LatAm offices: Bogotá, Lima,
Mexico City, Santiago
Head banker: Isaac Deutsch,
director and executive officer
Remarkable deals: Opain
Airport, Kelar, Los
Ramones II Sur, Angamos

that Latin America is a strategic market."
SMBC picked up Sam Sherman, the
other co-head of project finance, from
Crédit Agricole in 2010, ahead of hiring
Carl Adams, director and head of Latin
America, in 2013. Other additions to the
team include Juan Kreutz, head of natural
resource project finance North America,
from BBVA in 2014 and Kristie Pellecchia,
executive director in loan syndications,
from BNP Paribas in 2014.
The additions in headcount have
translated into a number and variety
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