South Africa’s African Bank, which achieved the highest return on capital among sub-Saharan banks in 2007, at 68.4%, also had the highest disclosed level of non-performing loans (NPLs), at 28.64%.
African Bank topped the disclosed NPL list ahead of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), at 23.5% and Iran’s Bank Tejarat, at 22.47%. ABC, China’s fourth largest state-controlled bank, has yet to be restructured but regulators in China and Iran are keen to disclose NPL levels in their efforts to improve transparency. Four Iranian banks are on the list, including Bank Keshavarzi (16.57%) and Bank Saderat Iran (15.5%).
In the ranking of highest disclosed Bank for International Settlements (BIS) capital ratios, China’s new entrant to the Top 1000, Three Gorges Bank, came top with 150.8%. In a year when the Top 25 ratios increased considerably overall, it was followed in second place (the same as last year) by Nederlands Waterschapsbank with 114.73% and by France’s Electro Banque with 111.7%. Other banks with ratios in excess of 100% include Taiwan’s Hua Nan Financial Holdings (108.14%) and the new UK Islamic institution, Bank of London and the Middle East (102.7%).
The worst or bottom disclosed BIS ratios are led by India’s housing specialist HDFC Bank (3.3%), followed by Spain’s Banco Guipuzcoano (4.06%) and Taiwan’s Taichung Commercial Bank (5.38%).
