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Best Bank: RBS Uzbekistan |
When RBS bought ABN Amro it’s doubtful that chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin gave much thought to the Dutch bank’s Uzbek outpost. But while Goodwin has gone and RBS has been nearly destroyed by the Dutch acquisition, the Uzbek unit goes from strength to strength.
RBS Uzbekistan is a universal commercial bank, whose assets have grown 100% during the past 12 months, total operating income by 57.6% and net income before tax by 162.8%. The bank is also well capitalized, with a capital adequacy ratio of 24.3%, a return on equity of 60.2% and a cost-to-income ratio of 43.9%.
It has almost 2,500 clients, including about 300 corporate and financial institution relationships. In particular, it holds strong positions in the oil and gas, metal and mining and telecoms sectors. As well as ABN Amro, now RBS, shareholders in the bank include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (11.8%), the International Finance Corporation (11.8%) and National Bank of Uzbekistan (17.6%).
