South Africa’s banks retained their position as the largest lenders in Africa in this year’s Top 1000. Standard Bank remains the biggest African bank, having increased its Tier 1 capital from $9.8bn in the 2012 ranking to $10.9bn 12 months later. FirstRand and Nedbank ranked second and third this year, respectively, occupying the same positions that they did inThe Banker’s Top 1000 in 2012.
But most of South Africa’s lenders, as was the case in the 2012 ranking, had a subdued year as far as Tier 1 and asset growth were concerned. The total Tier 1 capital of its top four lenders – Standard Bank, First-Rand, Absa (a subsidiary of the UK’s Barclays) and Nedbank – rose just 3.3% to $30.7bn. The two main exceptions in the country were African Bank and Capitec, two banks specialising in mass-market lending. They saw Tier 1 growth of 44% and 50%, respectively.
Much of the rest of Africa is far more buoyant than South Africa, even if no other country yet comes close to matching the size of its banks. The Tier 1 capital of Morocco’s Attijariwafa, the second biggest non-South African lender on the continent after local rival Groupe Banque Populaire, rose 21% to $3.1bn. Angola’s banks are also going through a period of quick expansion. The three that made it into this year’s Top 1000 – Banco BAI, BPC and Banco BIC – each experienced Tier 1 expansion of more than 15%.
Nigeria’s largest lender by Tier 1 capital, Zenith Bank, is rising very rapidly. Last year, it ranked 322nd globally by Tier 1 capital. This year, it has moved up to 287th place. Nigerian banks performed particularly well on a profits basis. In the 2012 ranking, the 10 biggest lenders from the country made aggregate net profits before tax of $993m. That figure has climbed to $3.1bn in this year’s rankings. Moreover, three banks – Zenith, First Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank – made pre-tax earnings of more than $500m, which was a first for Nigeria.
Despite their rapid expansion, Africa’s banks still make up a small proportion of banks in the Top 1000 and global Tier 1 capital. For the second year running, none of its lenders make the top 100, with Standard Bank ranking 109th.
