African banks suffered in this year’s Top 1000 ranking from the weakness of their currencies, many of which fell sharply against the US dollar in the second half of 2011.
South African banks were among the hardest hit, with the rand sliding almost 19% versus the US currency last year, though Standard Bank retained its position as the largest bank on the continent by Tier 1 capital and assets. Yet while the latter rose 12% in local currency during 2011, assets fell from $201bn to $183bn in dollar terms. This was also largely the reason why Standard Bank’s Tier 1 capital decreased from $12bn to $9.8bn in 2011, causing it to drop from 94th to 112th in the ranking – leaving Africa without any banks in the Top 100.
In last year’s Top 1000, Standard Bank had double the Tier 1 capital of its nearest rival, FirstRand, which had $6bn. FirstRand has closed the gap substantially and has $8.4bn of such capital in this year’s ranking. It was helped, however, by its financial year ending on June 30, 2011. In the 12 months prior to that date, the rand actually strengthened against the dollar (Standard Bank’s year ended on December 31).
Last year, 30 African banks made it in to the Top 1000, whereas this time 31 did. The continent’s lenders still account for a small proportion of global Tier 1 capital, collectively making up 0.98% of the total in the Top 1000, down slightly from last year.
Mauritian banks, assisted by the rupee being one of the few African currencies to hold its own against the dollar in 2011, were some the fastest risers in this year’s ranking. Two of them, Mauritius Commercial Bank and State Bank of Mauritius, were among the four African lenders that increased their Tier 1 capital the most.
Angola’s banks also had a good year. Banco de Poupança e Crédito is a new entrant to the Top 1000, after its Tier 1 capital rose 31% to $705m. Banco Angolano de Investimentos, Angola’s biggest lender, saw its Tier 1 capital increase by 11% to $708m and assets expand by a hefty 42% to $12bn. This caused it to climb the global assets ranking from 674th to 596th.
While Nigerian lenders did not move up the Tier 1 ranking significantly, Access Bank’s assets increased 93% to $10.3bn, thanks to its takeover of local rival Intercontinental Bank. This led it to move from 805th to 635th in the assets ranking. Togolese-based Ecobank moved from 609 to 498 in term of assets, thanks mainly to its acquisition of Nigeria’s Oceanic Bank.
