African banks are minnows when it comes to size. But in terms of profitability, they dominate their peers from other regions of the world. That is at least according to The Banker’s survey of lenders just outside the Top 1000 World Banks, published in July.
The list of Top 1000 contenders comprises the biggest 267 banks by Tier 1 capital that did not make it into the Top 1000, for which the cut off was $255m. The rankings exclude institutions that failed to provide 2010 data, so should not be seen as definitive. But timely reporting is a just reward for entry, especially in a world that is ever more focused on transparency among banks.