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Top 1000 World Banks - South African banks still dominate but slip globally

Standard Bank remains the largest bank in Africa by Tier 1 capital and its South African peers round out the top four, but the country's travails have caused their global positions to drop.
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While Africa’s economic performance continued to improve during the 2018 review period, an overall picture of steady growth masked mixed fortunes in its largest economies, not least the banking powerhouse of South Africa. A technical recession in the second half of 2018 and the weakening value of the rand saw South African banks lose ground in the overall Top 1000 World Banks ranking, despite retaining their top positions for the continent.

Of the top 10 African banks by Tier 1 capital, South Africa’s Standard Bank retains the top spot in the 2019 rankings with $9.8bn. This represented a 3.7% fall on the bank’s Tier 1 capital in the 2018 rankings, however, with its position in the global table falling from 145th to 149th.

The picture was broadly the same for South Africa’s other major lenders. FirstRand retains its second position in the Africa table (and its 173rd position in the global rankings) despite a 2.3% drop in Tier 1 capital during the review period. ABSA Group and Nedbank retain their respective third and fourth positions in the Africa rankings, despite both experiencing double-digit falls in their Tier 1 capital positions over the period. ABSA Group falls 14 positions to 184th in 2019’s global ranking, with Nedbank falling 23 positions to 240th.

Egypt’s lenders, by contrast, have built on the gains of previous years, once again posting impressive growth in Tier 1 capital during the 2019 review period. National Bank of Egypt rounds off the African top five with Tier 1 capital of $4.6bn, an 18.1% increase on the 2018 period, lifting its global ranking for 2019 to 266th, from 288th in 2018. National Bank of Egypt is one of three Egyptian lenders in the highest movers rankings for Africa for 2019; Banque du Caire has seen its Tier 1 capital rise 23.9%, with Commercial International Bank (CIB) posting a 9% rise during the period.

CIB ranks in third position in Africa’s top five regional lenders based on their return on capital (ROC). Banco de Fomento Angola tops the table for the second consecutive year, with an ROC of 93.5%, up from 51.6% in the 2018 ranking. Guaranty Trust Bank of Nigeria occupies second position, while Banco Angolano de Investimentos and Banco BIC – both from Angola – hold fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

Top 25: Africa ($M)

Regional  Rank World Rank Bank Country Tier 1 Capital
1 149 Standard Bank Group South Africa 9,752
2 173 FirstRand South Africa 8,231
3 198 ABSA Group South Africa 6,848
4 240 Nedbank Group South Africa 5,109
5 266 National Bank of Egypt Egypt 4,612
6 289 Groupe Banques Populaire Morocco 4,109
7 294 Attijariwafa Bank Morocco 4,031
8 375 Investec South Africa South Africa 2,801
9 415 Zenith Bank Nigeria 2,403
10 424 Banque Misr Egypt 2,372
11 430 BMCE Bank Group Morocco 2,322
12 442 Afreximbank Egypt 2,241
13 548 CIB Egypt Egypt 1,684
14 563 Ecobank Transnational Togo 1,620
15 579 Arab African International Bank Egypt 1,542
16 581 Access Bank Nigeria 1,535
17 582 Guaranty Trust Bank Nigeria 1,531
18 588 Capitec Bank Holdings South Africa 1,513
19 613 MCB Group Mauritius 1,421
20 704 United Bank for Africa Nigeria 1,126
21 717 KCB Group Kenya 1,079
22 827 Credit Agricole du Maroc Morocco 804
23 844 Equity Bank Kenya 772
24 852 First Bank of Nigeria Nigeria 745
25 885 African Bank South Africa 682

Highest Movers: Africa

Regional  Rank World Rank Bank   Tier 1 Capital %ch. Tier 1 Capital $m
1 717 KCB Group Kenya 30.71 1,079
2 995 Banque du Caire Egypt 23.85 501
3 266 National Bank of Egypt Egypt 18.12 4,612
4 581 Access Bank Nigeria 17.82 1,535
5 932 Banco BIC Angola 16.86 593
6 981 Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Kenya 13.02 527
7 613 MCB Group Mauritius 11.52 1,421
8 289 Groupe Banques Populaire Morocco 9.4 4,109
9 548 CIB Egypt Egypt 8.99 1,684
10 974 Fidelity Bank Nigeria 8.6 534

Top Five ROC: Africa

Regional  Rank World Rank Bank Country Return on capital (%)
1 925 Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA) Angola 93.49
2 582 Guaranty Trust Bank Nigeria 39.28
3 548 CIB Egypt Egypt 31.84
4 949 Banco Angolano de Investimentos Angola 28.51
5 932 Banco BIC Angola 27.87

New Entrants: Africa ($M)

World Rank Bank Name Country Tier 1 Capital
442 Afreximbank Egypt 2,241
981 Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Kenya 527

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Read more about:  Africa , Rankings & data , Top 1000 World Banks
John Everington is the Middle East and Africa editor. Prior to joining The Banker, John was the deputy business editor of The National in the UAE, and has also worked for Dealreporter, Arab News and The Telegraph. He has also covered the telecom sector in Africa and the Middle East, living and working in Qatar and the UK. John has a BA in Arabic and History and an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.
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