The Cypriot banking sector was more than four times the size of the country's economy at the end of 2011.
In the years following its 2009 banking crisis, Nigeria's banks' pre-tax profits lagged in the African rankings, but figures from 2012 are expected to show a recovery.
Six of the top 10 African banks by profit are from South Africa, with banks from Morocco, Algeria and Nigeria making up the list.