The emerging markets once again provided the biggest movers in 2008’s Top 1000 bank rankings, with 79 banks moving 100 places or more.

Soundest: Highly capitalised banks are envied for their soundness, but too much capital may not necessarily be well used except in a specific business model.

The dominance of South African Banks in he sub-Saharan Africa region is under threat. For the second year in a row, Nigeria’s banks have soared up the global league tables and are knocking on the door of the more established ‘blue-blood’ brands of South Africa.

Higher oil prices – extending above $130 a barrel as The Banker went to press – have improved the prospects of most Middle East banks as well as profits for calendar 2007.

Latin America is still roaring ahead on the back of a commodity boom. By the end of 2007, the region had amassed about $400bn in foreign currency reserves, according to the International Monetary Fund. How these inflows came about is indicative of the economics of each country.

In what seems to have become a traditional dance, the top three banks in North America have switched places once again. Citigroup has, this year, reclaimed its crown, just pipping JPMorgan Chase to the top slot and pushing Bank of America (BAC), last year’s occupant of pole position, into third place.

Asia is riding high as the world’s saviour, ­taking up the slack from an ever-weakening US economy. Its main vulnerability is its dependence on increasingly expensive oil to continue ­developing, and the inflationary pressures affecting the price of food.

Japan managed only to raise its head from its endless slump, before falling back into the same pattern.

The top order of banks in the central and eastern Europe (CEE) region changed little in 2007, but the striking story is the strength of the largest Russian banks.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are responsible for remodelling the Top 25 western European banks in this year’s listings. As ABN AMRO is consolidated onto the balance sheets of its three purchasers, it disappears from our rankings, while RBS, Santander and Fortis all move up the table.