Unsurprisingly, following the end of a period of high economic growth throughout the continent, 2009 represented a more sober year for Africa's banks.

In spite of commodity-rich southern Africa being the worst affected region, South Africa's major banks maintained their premier position among Africa's representatives in this year's Top 1000 World Banks.

Standard Bank again emerged as Africa's top bank, reporting substantial increases in the value of its Tier 1 capital and assets despite higher credit impairment charges. Nedbank, Africa's third best performer and another Johannesburg-based institution, also posted significant improvement on the level of Tier 1 capital and assets, even though it had to contend with a slowdown in demand for credit as well as higher retail impairments. Along with FirstRand Bank, Investec and Barclays-owned Absa, these banks dominate South Africa's market, accounting for approximately 90% of banking assets.

In stark contrast, Nigeria's banking sector underwent a dramatic change, particularly in the second half of last year, under the tutelage of the governor of its central bank, Lamido Sanusi.

As a result of the governor's reforms, which saw the removal of several CEOs and the erosion of two-thirds of the sector's capitalisation, a number of Nigerian banks fell down this year's rankings. United Bank for Africa, which reported a 94.18% decline in profits for 2009, was the most prominent victim, falling 126 places.

Zenith Bank, whose CEO was one of the banking chiefs forced out by Mr Sanusi, was another Nigerian bank that suffered a heavy drop in this year's rankings. It is interesting to note that a number of other Nigerian banks in this year's rankings, such as Access Bank and Fidelity Bank, posted significant declines in their Tier 1 capital and assets even before the central bank governor's reforms had been implemented.

Egypt's banking sector merits attention for the way in which it has successfully avoided the worst effects of the global financial crisis, due in large part to the Central Bank of Egypt's strict regulations and the prudent banking culture that pervades the country.

National Bank of Egypt and Arab African International Bank made significant movement forward in this year's rankings, building on a highly liquid base as well as strong asset quality.

Overall, the continent's banks do not constitute a significant share of the 1000 banks featured in this year's report. There are 30 African banks in this year's rankings that represent 1.03% of total Tier 1 capital as well as 0.73% of total assets. Rich in resources with a broadly underbanked and growing population, there is certainly no question over the continent's banking potential, so there is much scope for the figures to change in the foreseeable future.

Top 25: Africa ($m)

Top 25: Africa ($m)

Highest movers: Africa ($m)

Highest movers: Africa ($m)

New entrants: Africa ($m)

New entrants: Africa ($m)

PLEASE ENTER YOUR DETAILS TO WATCH THIS VIDEO

All fields are mandatory

The Banker is a service from the Financial Times. The Financial Times Ltd takes your privacy seriously.

Choose how you want us to contact you.

Invites and Offers from The Banker

Receive exclusive personalised event invitations, carefully curated offers and promotions from The Banker



For more information about how we use your data, please refer to our privacy and cookie policies.

Terms and conditions

Join our community

The Banker on Twitter