Ghana
Best bank Social Security Bank
With 38 branches and an aggressive marketing strategy, Social Security Bank is the most serious local competitor to Standard Chartered and Barclays. Privatized in 1995, its profits grew 55% between 1995 and 1996, to C41.5 billion ($20 million). It was the most profitable Ghanaian bank last year in terms of return on assets. A consistent innovator, SSB has upgraded banking for corporate clients and has recently introduced smart cards for retail customers. By controlling costs it can offer the cheapest loans (with interest rates as low as 30% compared with the bank rate of 45%) and the highest interest on deposits. It is a net lender to the banking community.
Best broker Databank
Databank produces by far the most consistent and comprehensive research on Ghana’s macroeconomy, budget and listed companies. It maintains the most comprehensive database of the Ghana Stock Exchange and compiles the leading indices. It is known for the speed and efficiency of its execution it accounts for 65% to 70% of secondary market trading of equities on the GSE. An experienced portfolio manager for institutions and individuals, Databank is now in the process of launching a $30 million West Africa Fund the first indigenously sponsored equities fund for the region.
Best foreign bank Barclays Bank
Barclays gets the vote because of its provision of custody services to foreign investors (it has 98% of the business) and the fact that it is very forward-looking its high internal costs are due in large part to an extensive programme of refurbishment and expenditure on IT to position the bank for the next millennium. It aims to be hooked up to satellite by the end of the year, enabling the provision of real-time banking.
Kenya
Best bank Kenya Commercial Bank
Kenya Commercial Bank has undergone a rapid expansion of its network over the past five years to capture 21% of the country’s loans and deposits market. Indigenously owned and managed, it is the country’s largest bank in terms of loans, assets (over $1.2 billion) and branches, 25% larger than its rival Barclays Bank Kenya and more than double the size of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya. The return on equity of 34% compares favourably with other banks in the region, helped by its access to cheap deposits through a network of 279 retail branches, and its ability to reinvest the surplus funds in money market instruments. It has also been steadily improving the quality of its loan book.
Best broker Kestrel Capital
Established in 1995, Kestrel Capital has been at the forefront of developments in Kenya’s capital market, especially following the flotation of national carrier Kenya Airways in 1996. Now the country’s second-largest broker (with a 15% market share) the firm is institutionally focused, with research which those polled reckoned to be the best concentrating on the 12 or so stocks of most interest to foreign investors.
Best foreign bank Citibank
Now the country’s fourth-largest bank, with assets having grown 40% last year, Citibank is the only provider of on-line automated payment products (paylink) and a nationwide collection product (Speedcollect). It is an important intermediary for foreign investment flows.
Citibank remains a leading player in the capital markets, having been domestic adviser on the Kenya Airways privatization in spring 1996 and reopened the syndicated loan market by lead managing a Ksh1 billion ($18 million) loan for Kenya Breweries in October.
Morocco
Best bank Banque Commerciale du Maroc
Last year’s winner BMCE makes the most noise internationally (it was the first to launch a GDR last year) and is more active in capital markets, but Banque Commerciale du Maroc gets the vote this time as the largest and most consistently profitable bank in Morocco. It is the most progressive regarding corporate lending, making innovative use of new technology and products, encouraging strong customer loyalty. It also has some 80% of the custody business.
Best securities house Casablanca Finance and Intermediation (CFI)
Morocco’s largest brokerage has been very influential in the development of the capital markets its chief executive is also chairman of the stock exchange. CFI’s research is second to none. It has pioneered M&A, asset management, mutual funds and the distribution of corporate issues and IPOs.
Best foreign bank Citibank Maghreb
The largest and most profitable foreign bank in Morocco, with a deposit base up 50% against 1% for the Moroccan banks as a whole, Citibank is the only bank in Morocco offering cash management and operational electronic payments countrywide. It is the only foreign bank designated as a primary dealer in government securities, one of the most active of any of the banks in the secondary market of treasury bills and in the forex interbank market, and has a large slice of the custody business for foreign clients.
Nigeria
Best bank Nigeria International Bank
Nigeria International Bank, 75% owned by Citibank, is the leading bank in Nigeria in terms of profitability, innovation, automation and service. Despite keener competition and a narrowing spread on lending, NIB posted record net income of N428 million ($19.56 million) in 1996 and became the first bank to reach the minimum share capital requirement of N500 million set by the central bank it intends to increase paid-up capital to N1 billion during 1997. It has played an active role in rejuvenating the interbank forex market and pioneering the use of the two-way quote in the Nigerian forex treasury market. It is the sole custodian for international investors investing in the stock market.
South Africa
Best bank Nedcor
Nedcor, South Africa’s second-largest bank by market capitalization stands out for its emphasis on state-of-the-art technology, confident leaders and excellent results. Last year it posted profits of over R1 billion ($224 million) and was the country’s top bank by return on equity. Compound earnings growth has been an impressive 26% over the past three years.
Of its many fund-raising activities last year, perhaps the most noteworthy was its own $150 million GDR offering: the GDRs were issued at $11 and have since risen to $22, reflecting the bank’s performance and increasing market penetration.
Best broker Deutsche Morgan Grenfell
Reckoned to have the best overall equities research in South Africa, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell has been at the forefront of distributing its reports via the Internet. It has retained much of the culture of the former Ivor Jones firm, and has been very successful with its “nursery system” of hiring young chartered accountants and training them within two years.
Tunisia
Best bank Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie
With 76 branches and paid-in capital of $80 million, Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie is the most professionally run local bank in Tunisia. Aggressive with corporates, it recently won the bidding for the $9 million seven-year financing for Akimia. It is renowned for its trade finance and other international banking activities. One of the first companies to be quoted on the stock exchange, it now has the lion’s share of the nascent custody market.
Best broker Tunisie Valeur
The only independent Tunisian broker (not a bank subsidiary) to have a developed research department and two mutual funds, Tunisie Valeur had the largest market share of any brokerage in the first three months of 1997. It has done the research for six IPOs, and sold the shares, and has well-established links with foreign institutions. Part of a larger financial group, it has an associated asset management company.
Best foreign bank Citibank
Active in Tunisia since 1976, Citibank is the only bank to have both offshore and onshore banking licences. It has been a pioneer in many fields, ranging from forex exchange and forwards to innovative cash management products, and is held to provide the best service.
Zimbabwe
Best bank National Merchant Bank
National Merchant Bank’s listing on the Zimbabwe and London stock exchanges in April was some five times oversubscribed, allowing it to raise some Z$325 million ($29 million) in all to strengthen its balance sheet. It has developed a reputation for innovative tailor-made products for example, it has provided Zimbabwe’s first two gold loans to Ashanti Goldfields and is used by many multinationals for their corporate finance needs.
Best broker Sagit
One of Zimbabwe’s oldest brokerages dating back to 1895 locally owned Sagit has a very loyal private-client following in the country as well as a strong foreign client base built up more recently. The quality of its research is such that it is the first choice for many foreign institutions.
Best foreign bank Barclays Merchant Bank Zimbabwe
With a management style driven by its major shareholder, Barclays, which owns 60%, Barclays Merchant Bank Zimbabwe has done almost all the major corporate finance deals in Zimbabwe over the past two years, including last year the listing of Ashanti Goldfields on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, acting as domestic adviser on Meikles Africa’s international IPO and advising on the only local IPO. Its associated commercial bank offers a full array of services, including handling some 90% of the custody business.
