Thomson Financial IFR Awards 2006

Goldman Sachs wins Bank of the Year

London 12/18/2006 - Thomson Financial’s International Financing Review (IFR) announced today that Goldman Sachs had won its coveted Bank of the Year award, along with two of the other headline awards. The firm emerged as the winner following two months of intense scrutiny of the global investment banking industry by IFR’s independent, global team of expert reporters and analysts.

Goldman Sachs’s performance in 2006 was extraordinary. Having identified and anticipated long-term structural developments in the marketplace some years ago, the firm used the quality and depth of its client relationships to develop a unique strategy of being an advisor, financier and co-investor to and with its clients. This strategy paid real dividends in 2006.

That strategy, which is now starting to be copied by the industry, drove an exceptional set of results where Goldman reported record revenues across the range of its businesses in its fiscal year ended November 24, 2006.

The IFR Awards represent the key industry benchmark of global capital markets excellence; IFR is the authoritative source of capital markets intelligence. The Awards will be presented at a Gala Dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Monday 8th January 2006, in the presence of HRH The Princess Royal.

Key winners are:

* Bank of the Year – Goldman Sachs
* Bond House of the Year – Citigroup
* Loan House of the Year – JP Morgan
* Equity House of the Year – Goldman Sachs
* Derivatives House of the Year – Deutsche Bank
* Securisation Finance House of the Year – Lehman Brothers
* Leveraged Finance House of the Year – Goldman Sachs
* Borrower of the Year – Eksportfinans

UK winners are:

* Financial Borrower –Northern Rock
* Euro Bond House – Barclays Capital
* European Securitisation House – RBS
* European Loan House – HSBC


Keith Mullin, Editor of Thomson Financial’s IFR, commented:

"2006 was a tremendous year for the investment banking industry. Predictions of an economic downturn and a turn in the credit cycle proved to be premature, while the volume of corporate M&A and LBOs came close to regaining levels not seen for years. Global liquidity remained rampant and investors continued to plough funds into all areas of the financial markets.

“Goldman Sachs had a highly successful and profitable year. The firm’s distinctive business model of combining advisory and financing with its own capital commitment caught the market exactly right in 2006. Its impressive foresight enabled it to retain significant market share in M&A and equity underwriting, while its leading position in areas as diverse as leveraged finance, commodities and derivatives only served to confirm its pre-eminence.”

A full list of winners can be viewed at www.ifrawards.com from Sunday, 17th December.

Notes to Editors
International Financing Review (IFR) is the world’s leading source of international capital markets intelligence. Published weekly in print and on the web, IFR provides in-depth coverage of developments in global financing markets, including analysis of all international bond, syndicated loan, leveraged finance, high-yield debt, emerging market, equity and convertible issues, as well as developments in the derivatives market. It is read by all major banks, brokers, investors, corporate and government borrowers.

The IFR Awards will be presented at the 12th IFR Annual Awards Gala Dinner attended by over 1,500 senior investment bankers, on January 8th 2007 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The Princess Royal, President of Save the Children, will attend the dinner which is the charity’s largest annual fund raiser, and last year raised just over £2 million.

IFR was launched in 1974, as capital markets activity first showed signs of growth towards a global industry.

Collectively, the international bond, syndicated loan and equity markets constitute a multi-trillion dollar, multi-currency market. Each week, billions of dollars of new international deals are signed, every one chronicled by IFR. IFR contacts over 1,000 capital markets participants weekly, to relay market sentiment and activity on a comprehensive and global scale.

IFR is headquartered in London and has bureaux in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sao Paulo, and Sydney.

The IFR Awards are selected by IFR’s expert capital markets journalists. Starting in October, the journalists start an exhausting round of interviews with hundreds of market participants. These meetings give an opportunity for capital market professionals to stake their claim to individual awards and to give their views on the performance of their peers. They also give the reporters the chance to gauge the market’s thoughts on the most important transactions of the year. In addition, the IFR team takes soundings from treasurers and investors before deciding on a shortlist in each award category. The final decision is then made by the senior IFR editorial team.

Thomson Financial, the publisher of IFR, a US$1.9 billion provider of essential electronic workflow solutions to the worldwide financial community. Through the widest range of products and services in the industry, Thomson Financial helps clients in more than 70 countries make better decisions, be more productive and achieve superior results. Thomson Financial is part of The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), a global leader in providing essential electronic workflow solutions to business and professional customers. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson provides value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, scientific research and healthcare. The Corporation’s common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).

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Alex Brog

Director, Public Relations, Europe

The Thomson Corporation

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