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 |