June 3, 2018
By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Nigeria’s tier one banks, the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank), Zenith Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Limited and Access Bank Plc have been listed among African lenders, including Ecobank Transnational Inc, according to The Banker magazine’s 2018 1000 global banks ranking.
A statement by The Banker magazine on Monday said Africa’s economic fortunes improved over the 2017 review period following a difficult couple of years in which lower commodity prices hit the performance of the continent’s largest markets.
“This slowly improving economic climate is reflected in the growth trajectory of Africa’s banks, which have, across the board, posted relatively strong numbers in the 2018 Top 1000 World Banks ranking,” the statement added.
According to the report, among the top 10 African banks by Tier 1 capital, South Africa’s Standard Bank once more topped the rankings with $10 billion compared to $8.6 billion the bank recorded in the 2017 ranking; boosting its ranking on the global list to 145th from 149th.
Coming second is FirstRand another South African lender which maintained its second position in the Africa table by growing its Tier 1 capital position, Nedbank increased its Tier 1 capital; but ABSA Group beat it to third position in the 2018 Top 1000 World Banks ranking.
ABSA Group is now 184th in the global ranking with $7.7 billion in Tier 1 capital and its inclusion in the 2018 ranking reflects the reduction of Barclays Plc’s ownership stake in Barclays Africa Group to 14.9 per cent from 62 percent and the rebranding of the holding company name.
The statement says Nigeria’s pan-African lender, UBA, GTBank and two Angolan banks joined Commercial International Bank (CIB) in the top five regional lenders based on their Return On Capital (ROC).
UBA and GTBank came second and third respectively, while Banco BIC, another Angolan bank, occupied fourth position.
According to The Banker magazine Egyptian lenders also performed strongly in the regional table with the National Bank of Egypt securing fifth position for the second straight time with $4 billion in Tier 1 capital, representing a marginal increase from the 2017 ranking.
the statement says CIB, the country’s largest private bank, registered the biggest gains in the 2018 edition by climbing to 13th position with $1.5 billion in Tier 1 capital, up from 20th place in 2017 ranking.
The Banker magazine said for the first time in seven years, the global banking industry posted double-digit growth in returns and capital. “European profits have bounced back, US banks are hiring and Asia’s smaller markets are growing at the same pace as China,” it added.
“Exactly 10 years after the suspension of three US mortgage-focused funds signalled the start of the global financial crisis, the banking industry appears to be finding its feet.
“The banks in The Banker’s Top World Banks ranking for 2018 recorded double-digit growth in both capital and pre-tax profits, a feat not seen since 2010 when it was working from a much lower base,” magazine affirmed.
