Four Nigerian-owned banks made the prestigious list of best bank in Africa last year, according to the latest 2024 World’s Best Banks report.
The report published by Global Finance, a monthly financial magazine shows that UBA, GTCO, Access Bank, and Zenith Bank in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone, Gambia, Ghana, and Nigeria respectively made the list.
Banks in Africa have recently been operating in challenging environments, owing to economic turmoil. The stress factor has been particularly elevated in big economies. Amid the harsh environment, African banks’ top leadership and management have demonstrated shrewdness and prowess. Instead of crumbling, banks remain resilient. Some are even posting record-breaking profits, the report said.
Instead of crumbling, banks remain resilient. Some are even posting record-breaking profits and local currency crises in Egypt and Nigeria have caused havoc. The ripple effects for banks have heightened risks to asset quality. In South Africa, sluggishness in critical sectors like mining, energy, logistics, construction, and trade saw economic growth nosedive to a mere 0.6% in 2023, down from 1.9% in 2022.
According to Global Finance, Standard Bank, its regional
winner, led the pack with a 27 percent increase in headline earnings at $2.3
billion from $1.7 billion, while Return on equity rose to 18.8 percent from
16.3 percent.
Zenith Bank defied Nigeria’s economic mess to post
triple-digit profit growth. “In the third quarter of last year, it posted a 149
percent increase to $368.4 million in profit before tax from $146.3 million for
the same period in 2022.”
The report added that UBA, the winner in Burkina Faso and
Sierra Leone, believes the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
is a critical bedrock for development and that in February, the bank was a key
backer and the official sponsor of the ECOWAS Mining and Petroleum Forum.
“Ironically, Burkina Faso has joined with Mali and Niger to
form a separate alliance and exited the bloc, to which it contributed about 8
percent of GDP. The country, together with Niger, also intends to leave the
West African Economic and Monetary Union, whose members use the CFA franc,
which is pegged to the euro. These developments are enormous threats to UBA.”
The bank has been building a strategy around cross-border
payments, remittances and trade finance in the country. All are interlinked
with membership to the two economic and monetary groupings. Despite the
worsening political risks, UBA in Burkina Faso is determined to soldier on,
said authors of the banking report.
“GTBank is our winner as Best Bank in the Gambia. The bank
is not only using its extensive branch network to build partnerships with
public bodies to collect revenue but is also deploying digital channels to
increase retail-market penetration,” they said.
They noted that the Ghanaian economy is showing signs of
stabilisation after a turbulent period. “For Access Bank, the country’s winner,
the impacts are already being felt, with net profits surging by 47.1 percent in
Q3 to $34.4 million, from $23.3 million in the same period of 2022.”
Best Banks In Africa
Algeria | Banque Nationale d’Algerie |
Angola | Banco Angolano de Investimentos (BAI) |
Benin | Ecobank |
Botswana | First National Bank |
Burkina Faso | UBA |
Cameroon | Societe Generale Cameroun |
Cape Verde | Banco Comercial do Atlantico (BCA) |
Côte d’Ivoire | Bridge Bank Group |
DR Congo | Rawbank |
Djibouti | CAC International Bank |
Egypt | CIB Egypt |
Equatorial Guinea | BANGE |
Ethiopia | Awash Bank |
Gambia | GTBank |
Ghana | Access Bank |
Guinea | VISTA Bank |
Kenya | Co-operative Bank |
Madagascar | Societe Generale Madagasikara |
Malawi | Standard Bank |
Mali | Banque Atlantique |
Mauritius | AfrAsia Bank |
Morocco | Attijariwafa |
Mozambique | Millennium bim |
Namibia | First National Bank |
Nigeria | Zenith Bank |
Rwanda | Bank of Kigali |
Senegal | Societe Generale Senegal |
Sierra Leone | UBA |
South Africa | Standard Bank |
Sudan | Omdurman National Bank |
Tanzania | CRDB Bank |
Togo | Ecobank |
Tunisia | Amen Bank |
Uganda | Centenary Bank |
Zambia | Zanaco |
Zimbabwe | CBZ Bank |