Bahrain
Best domestic bank: National Bank of Bahrain
Best foreign bank: Citibank
Rising oil prices and the recovery of aluminium exports have boosted Bahrain's economy in the past 12 months and with government spending remaining constant, the banking sector is optimistic for the year ahead.
National Bank of Bahrain continues to focus on both retail and corporate business and despite a more competitive market has maintained growth in the key areas of retail loans, deposits and credit cards. It increased its loan book by 14%, yet by limiting the majority of its exposure to government and financial institutions it can still boast a very low non-performing loans to total loans ratio of 2.86%. NBB's net income rose by 7% on the previous year and its return on average equity...
