South Africa banks dwarf Nigeria’s in top 1000 world banks ranking

South Africa Banks have dwarfed Nigerian banks in the 2018 Top 1000 World Banks ranking in which the tier 1 capital of Standard Bank Group is equivalent of the six largest Banks in Nigeria including Ecobank. In this year’s ranking, while Standard Bank Group of South Africa has a tier 1 capital of $10.129 billion the six top Nigerian banks put together has total capital base of $10.586 billion.

According to the ranking, Ecobank though listed as  based in Togo is leading West Africa pack with a tier 1 capital of $3.179 billion. It is the eight top banks in Africa and 337 in the World. As usual Zenith is first top bank in Nigeria, 10th in Africa and 402 in the world with a total tier1 capital of $2.466 billion. Zenith is followed by Gtbank as 2nd in Nigeria, 14th in Africa, 576 in the world with a total tier 1 capital of $1.509 billion.  First Bank followed closely as the 16th top bank in Africa and 592 in the world. It has a tier 1 capital of $1.447 billion. Access Bank on its part is ranked the 18th top bank in Africa and occupies the 630th position in the world of banking. UBA was ranked 25th in top bank in Africa and 856 in the world with a tier 1 capital of $711 million.

Still on the Africa bank ranking, the Banker ranked First Rand of South Africa as second in Africa and 173 in the world. It has a tier 1 capital base of $8.425 billion. The third position in Africa is occupied by another South Africa bank, ABSA which has a capital base of $7.7 billion and is the 184th top bank in the world. NeedBank which is also from South Africa is the fourth top bank in Africa and 217 in the world ranking. The four South Africa bank have continued to dominate the Africa banking scene. It was the desire to make Nigerian banks competitive that the Central Bank of Nigeria under Professor Chukwuma Soludo introduced the consolidation policy. The policy had helped to beef up the capital of Nigerian banks.

The Banker magazine a subsidiary of Financial Times of London in its comment on this year top 1000 world banks 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. Among the top 10 African banks by Tier 1 capital, South Africa’s Standard Bank has once again scooped the top spot with $10 billion. This was a significant jump from the $8.6 billion in Tier 1 capital the bank recorded in the 2017 ranking.  Accordingly, its position in the global table has climbed from 149th to 145th.

“Other South African lenders have also performed well. FirstRand maintains second position in the Africa table while growing its Tier 1 capital position, while Nedbank also posted an increase to its Tier 1 capital despite surrendering third spot in the table to the ABSA Group. ABSA Group’s 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 per cent and the rebranding of the holding company name. ABSA Group now occupies the third spot in the Africa regional table and 184th in the global ranking with $7.7 billion in Tier 1 capital.

“Elsewhere, Egyptian banks maintain a strong showing in the regional table. The National Bank of Egypt secures fifth position once again with $4 billion in Tier 1 capital, representing a marginal increase from the 2017 ranking. But Commercial International Bank (CIB), the country’s largest private bank, has 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’s ranking. This jump in the regional table reflects a much wider growth story for CIB in which its profits and assets have also jumped by a considerable margin in recent years.

“Two Nigerian banks and two Angolan banks join CIB in the top five regional lenders based on their return on capital (ROC). Topping the table is Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA) with an ROC of 51.6 per cent. This is the first time that BFA has been included in the Top 1000 World Banks ranking. United Bank for Africa and Guaranty Trust Bank, both from Nigeria, occupy the second and third spots, respectively, while another Angolan bank, Banco BIC, is in fourth place” the Banker said.

 Source: The Banker