Africa’s leading economies faced adverse conditions over the 2016 review period, as low commodity prices continue to shake the continent’s growth trajectory. Dealing with a shortage of foreign exchange, heightened political risk and volatile currencies, the performances of some regional lenders have suffered. Yet, as the rankings demonstrate, this is not a one-dimensional story. In some cases, African lenders have improved on their positions in the Top 1000 ranking, helped in part by prudent growth strategies and diversified business models.
South Africa’s Standard Bank Group once again tops the regional table with $8.6bn in Tier 1 capital. This represents a 15% increase from the 2016 ranking, accompanied by a notable jump in the global table from 160 to 149. Rounding out the top three positions are fellow South African lenders FirstRand and Nedbank, second and third, respectively. FirstRand’s Tier 1 marginally decreased over the review period, dropping by 3.8%. Conversely, Nedbank posted a 24.7% gain.
