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| © 2018 Euromoney |
| Regional awards |
| View full 2018 results |
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AlgeriaBest bank: Société Générale Algérie |
In Algeria, Société Générale Algérie continued to make its mark on the banking sector by opening 40,000 new accounts in 2017 and supporting the push for greater financial inclusion – one of the country’s biggest priorities.
Close to half of the bank’s profits stay in Algeria to be reinvested there, a sign of the French parent group’s commitment to the country. The bank increased its capital by DA4.6 billion ($39.2 million) to DA43 billion over last year and registered a healthy net income of DA5.3 billion.
It is a testament to Société Générale’s attachment to the African continent that it has done so well in a country that has a great deal of banking competition.
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AngolaBest bank: Banco Angolano de Investimentos
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It was a year of great change in Angola. After 38 years in office, president José Eduardo Dos Santos stepped down, opening the way, many believe, for a new era of political and economic reform.
This could be auspicious for the country’s banks, which have long had to operate in an environment of widespread corruption and heavy-handed intervention by politicians, reducing their ability to deal with international partners and distorting business decisions.
For now, Banco Angolano de Investimentos (BAI) remains the best among Angola’s financial institutions, achieving a 20% increase in the number of its customers from 2016 and an 11% increase in net results. BAI’s net loan portfolio dropped by 3%, but that is hardly surprising considering the turmoil Angola’s economy has gone through and the country’s dependence on oil and other natural resources.
The Angolan financial sector will have to be wary of non-performing loans, which are thought to be very high, although it is as yet unclear how great the problem is. In any case, under chief executive Luis Filipe Rodrigues Lélis, BAI appears better placed than most of its rivals to weather that storm and benefit from the political and economic changes in the country.
Although Angola’s investment banking sector remains limited in scope, one bank stood out over the last year for the deals it did in that market, Standard Bank Angola.
The institution, which is 51% owned by South Africa’s Standard Bank, boasts a portfolio of over 400 clients. These include the majority of the leading local and international corporates in the country’s key sectors – oil and gas, financial services, power and infrastructure, and consumer – as well as government and public-sector clients.
In the awards period, the bank arranged a AKz250 million ($1.01 million) deal for mining and exploration company Bauer, the Angolan subsidiary of German Bauer, and a AKz165 million loan to a South African tech company in Angola, Dimension Data. Standard Bank Angola also arranged a AKz9.5 billion bond for itself.
Its other important transactions included confidential M&A advice for a number of industrial groups and manufacturing companies, one of them a company with assets worth $1 billion. Finally, Standard Bank Angola arranged a $169 million export credit agency-backed facility for the Angolan ministry of finance to be used to develop Luanda airport.
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BotswanaBest bank: First National Bank of Botswana |
With around a third of the market in terms of loans, deposits and profit before tax, First National Bank of Botswana (FNBB) remains the country’s top bank, clinching the title of Botswana’s best bank once again this year.
Not only is it the largest bank in the nation and the largest company on the country’s stock exchange, but it is also growing fast – total revenue was up 6% over the last 12 months. It is also working hard to bring digital services to its clients.
FNBB introduced cardless payment withdrawal through its mobile application and increased the limit on its eWallet platform to P5,000 ($480). As much as 90% of transactions now occur digitally at the bank – testament to the execution of its digital migration strategy, which saw the bank become the first in the country to offer internet and mobile phone banking, ATMs that take deposits and a rewards programme.
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Côte d’IvoireBest bank: Société Générale de Banques en Côte d’Ivoire |
Côte d’Ivoire has long been a promising market, but it is only now beginning to fulfil its potential as a hub for francophone west Africa. It is attracting investment from abroad and serving as a point of entry for banks looking to be active in the wider region.
Société Générale de Banques en Côte d’Ivoire, well embedded in a booming economy growing at a rate of close to 8% a year, is Côte d’Ivoire’s best bank.
Tapping into that growth, the bank’s net income increased by 12%, to $72 million, while its loan book grew by a quarter.
Crucially, the French group has shown its dedication over time to its Ivorian business, most lately by choosing that country as the first of two in Africa to trial Yup, a mobile money platform available to clients and non-clients of the bank. Based on an agency banking model, it should help provide services to Côte d’Ivoire’s large unbanked population by allowing withdrawals, deposits, money transfers, bill payments and phone credit purchases via the app.
Société Générale is now rolling out Yup across Ghana, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Togo.
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EthiopiaBest bank: Dashen Bank |
In Ethiopia, a new addition to the list of African countries in Euromoney’s awards for excellence, Dashen Bank shone brightly over the last year for its fast growth and complete revamp of its core banking system.
Operational from May this year, the new system, developed by US company Oracle, integrates the bank’s 354 branches. It should resolve problems Dashen Bank had in the previous system with the speed of execution of transactions and with repeat errors, which led to customer complaints and prompted the upgrade.
Conscious that it needs to keep improving, the bank has also hired KPMG to formulate a strategic roadmap for the next 10 years of the bank’s evolution.
Over the last 12 months, Dashen Bank’s total deposits grew from Br22.8 billion ($826 million) to Br27.8 billion and revenue from Br2.7 billion to Br3.4 billion.
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GhanaBest bank: Barclays Bank of Ghana |
Dethroning Ecobank as Ghana’s best bank this year is Barclays Bank of Ghana, which experienced healthy growth over the last 12 months. Its profit before tax rose from C423 million ($88 million) to C550 million.
The bank’s growth didn’t come without a social conscience: it participated in the construction of a modern clinic aimed at providing healthcare for the residents of Trotor, a village in the east of the country and for children of the local Baptist school and orphanage.
The bank has also stated that it would seek to undertake acquisitions in the country and has already been in talks with regulators and shareholders about its plans. As the bank prepares for the next stage of its development, well thought-out M&A could put it further ahead of its main rivals.
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KenyaBest bank: Equity Bank
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Kenyan banks continued to suffer last year from an interest-rate cap that has led many to cut back lending. While institutions across the financial sector suffered a slowdown in earnings as a result, Equity Bank managed to keep its head above the water.
It was the only one of Kenya’s large banks to record growth, with a 13.9% rise in net profit to KSh18.9 billion ($187 million).
Equity Bank managed to compensate for a 7% drop in interest income with a 20% increase in non-interest income. It shifted focus to government securities and non-funded income to counter the headwinds of the rate cap.
The bank also reduced costs and increased mobile banking commissions. At a time when other banks are struggling with rising non-performing loans, its own fell slightly to 6.3%.
The bank cut lending to very small enterprises, as it deemed them too risky at the rate allowed by the law. While this cannot be a long-term solution for Equity Bank, which needs to support the economy’s grassroots firms, for now that cautious tactic has paid off and helped it avoid the problems that have afflicted many other institutions.
Bankers now hope that parliament will overturn the interest-rate cap, which would certainly improve the prospects of the Kenyan banking sector.
Last year, Euromoney did not award a best investment bank in Kenya. But this year the variety and quality of deals executed by Stanbic Bank Kenya justifies giving it that title.
The bank was a mandated lead arranger on Kenya’s $800 million syndicated loan last year, advising the government on the appropriate terms and structure of the facility and underwriting $200 million of the debt. Highlighting Standard Bank’s commitment to financing development projects, the bank also acted as a mandated lead arranger on a $55 million receivables-based financing for M-Kopa Solar Group in Kenya and Uganda – an important project for green finance.
Stanbic Bank Kenya also was mandated lead arranger on a $22 million five-year dollar financing package for sugar refiner Sukari Industries and a $30 million revolving credit facility for Centum Investment Company.
Beyond credit, the bank advised leading insurance and financial services group Britam Holdings on the sale of a 14% equity stake to the International Finance Corporation.
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MalawiBest bank: First Merchant Bank
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In Malawi, First Merchant Bank remained the dominant force in the financial sector during last year, booking excellent results and expanding its horizons through acquisitions in Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Profit for the year grew from MK7.7 billion ($10.6 million) to MK10 billion last year, while assets also grew, up about a third from MK327 billion to MK438 billion.
The most important event last year was the bank’s acquisition of a controlling stake in Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe. It also bought Opportunity Bank in Malawi, reinforcing its dominant status in its home country.
Most recently, First Merchant partnered with Airtel Malawi to allow Airtel Money customers to use the bank’s ATMs and the bank’s customers to move money into Airtel accounts.
In the country’s investment banking sector, Standard Bank Malawi had an excellent year, with substantial increases in loans and advances – from $51 million to $66 million – and revenue, from $32 million to $39 million.
It was sole financier on a $15 million medium-term loan for Carlsberg Malawi, which will support the brewer’s expansion strategy in that country.
This landmark transaction presented a unique set of challenges that were successfully overcome and resulted in winning a key deal for the Malawi franchise, making Standard Bank the leading bank for that client.
Beyond executing several credit deals, the bank also worked on a limited rights issue of $12 million for Malawi property rental company MPICO.
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MauritiusBest bank: Mauritius Commercial Bank |
Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) claims the award for the country’s best bank again this year.
MCB has market shares of around 40% in terms of domestic credit to the economy and local currency deposits and nearly 50% for cards issued. The bank has over 930,000 individual and institutional customers and a workforce of some 2,500 employees.
Its Mauritian business is anchored on an extensive network of 40 branches, 166 ATMs, more than 7,000 point-of-sale terminals, over 105,000 registered internet banking customers and a network of over 1,600 correspondent banks across the world. The bank also expanded its presence in Madagascar, with the opening of new branches.
Over last year, its profit before tax rose from MauR6.9 billion ($199 million) to MauR7.6 billion.
But MCB should not be complacent; it may face a competitor soon in the shape of State Bank of Mauritius, which has plans to realize its pan-African ambitions.
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MoroccoBest bank: Attijariwafa Bank |
In Morocco, Attijariwafa Bank continued to assert its position of strength. Africa’s best bank in last year’s awards, Attijariwafa saw a slight decrease in its return on equity, from 15.5% to a still healthy 14.7%.
However, customer loans increased by 6.7%, to Dh282 billion ($29.7 billion), and deposits by close to 10%, to Dh307 billion. This was all the more impressive given the country’s generally weak loan growth and a contraction in banking intermediation margins in Morocco.
One of the highlights of 2017 was the creation of Attijari Global Research, a new entity dedicated to market coverage for African financiers.
Attijariwafa initiated a number of logistical projects in 2017. These included the development of a regional headquarters in Rabat and the construction of a tower and buildings adjacent to Casablanca Finance City, providing employees and customers with a modern, functional and environmentally friendly location.
The bank continued to grow its businesses abroad, including Egypt, where it bought Barclays’ Egyptian division, now renamed Attijariwafa Bank Egypt, in May 2017.
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MozambiqueBest bank: Millennium bim |
Millennium bim had an outstanding year and once again takes the title of Mozambique’s best bank.
Its net income rose by 24%. Although net total loans dropped by 5%, total deposits grew by 23%, which has meant a big reduction in the loan-to-deposit ratio, from 86% to 68%.
The bank has a capital adequacy ratio of close to 26% and a cost-to-income ratio at an enviable 34% – putting it in better shape than all of its main competitors on both metrics. Its return on equity, meanwhile, rose to close to 24%.
Banco Unico, the challenger bank that has outdone Millennium bim in the past thanks to the pace at which it is growing, could not quite rise to the challenge this time; it remains so much smaller than Millennium bim and no longer manages to exceed the growth rates of its larger rival.
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NigeriaBest bank: Zenith Bank
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Nigeria’s economy finally experienced some early signs of recovery last year. Its GDP expanded for three straight quarters, after a 1.6% contraction in 2016, thanks to an increase in oil prices and the introduction of a new currency system that ended a crippling shortage of dollars.
In this more auspicious environment, Zenith Bank did particularly well and wins Nigeria’s best bank award. The bank’s profit before tax jumped nearly 30% and its return on equity rose from 20% to 23%. Non-performing loans rose, too, to 4.7%.
Just as importantly, under chief executive Peter Amangbo, the bank has completely overhauled its core banking platform, standardizing its front- and back-office technology with new software to better manage lending, deposits, payments, digital channels and teller operations.
Nigeria may not have fulfilled its potential for investment bank transactions during the year, but one bank did stand out for the scope and number of deals it worked on.
Stanbic IBTC, Nigeria’s best investment bank, closed 38 deals, despite macroeconomic conditions that, while improving, remain challenging.
Among the noteworthy mandates were Stanbic IBTC’s advisory role in the $950 million merger of AB InBev’s three brewery subsidiaries in Nigeria, Intafact Beverages, Pabod Breweries and International Breweries. The merger reshaped the competitive landscape in the Nigerian brewery sector through the creation of the country’s second-largest brewer.
Stanbic IBTC also acted as sole financial adviser to the Federal Republic of Nigeria on its follow-on Eurobond offerings that totalled $5.5 billion.
Beyond M&A and debt, the bank also worked on equity capital markets transactions, for example as the sole issuing house and financial adviser on the $181 million rights issue by Unilever Nigeria, which was 20% oversubscribed.
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RwandaBest bank: Bank of Kigali |
Rwanda is increasingly asserting itself as a supplementary hub to Kenya for east African banking, where Bank of Kigali continued to reign supreme over the past 12 months.
Chief executive Diane Karusisi oversaw its net income rise by an impressive 12.5% to reach $27 million last year and its return on equity was up slightly at 20.2%.
The bank supported the economy by boosting its loan-to-deposits ratio from 87% to close to 100%. Its market share of loans is now about a third of the entire Rwandan financial sector. Bank of Kigali also announced that it would support a group of young entrepreneurs that have the most sustainable and potentially lucrative projects by providing them with interest-free loans.
In a long-awaited step, the bank will list on the Nairobi exchange in Kenya. It is the first local company to cross-list, having already listed in Kigali. The bank had made its intentions clear last year about its goal of raising $175 million but had left itself the options of selling a stake to a foreign bank or of cross-listing on another exchange. The news of the listing gives its shareholders some clarity on what lies ahead.
The bank also launched its own internal fintech start-up, BK TecHouse, in a bid to modernize its digital offering.
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SenegalBest bank: Ecobank Senegal |
Ecobank Senegal takes the top spot as Senegal’s best bank this year from last year’s winner, Attijariwafa’s Compagnie Bancaire de l’Afrique Occidentale.
The Togo-headquartered pan-African bank, which has focused heavily on improving its digital offering in recent years, has done well in this country of high mobile phone penetration, which counts an average of over one phone per head.
Ecobank has worked to clean up its loan portfolio, a strategy that bore fruit last year when its net income jumped from CFAFr7 billion ($12.4 million) to over CFAFr10 billion. Deposits rose by CFAFr20 billion and credit by more than 10%.
Chief executive Serge Ackre has said that the bank would remain just as aggressive to make the most of the country’s positive economic prospects.
Beyond its traditional base of multinational clients, Ecobank Senegal has also made efforts to expand its offering to local SMEs, in part by financing them to bolster their chance of getting access to the all-important Senegal procurement contracts.
Ecobank last year launched a digital bank, enabling it to reach 400,000 customers.
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South AfricaBest bank: Standard Bank
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It was a year of great political change in South Africa, as long-time president Jacob Zuma stepped down from office amid political scandal. Bankers reacted positively to the news, as Zuma’s later years in office had been marred by allegations of mismanagement and corruption, and the country’s economy had taken a severe hit.
While Zuma’s successors are yet to meet the expectations that their arrival generated both inside the country and among investors abroad, the climate for business and the perception of South African risk have certainly improved.
Standard Bank, South Africa’s best bank this year, did especially well in this context, growing at a healthy rate and preparing itself for the future. Its stock surged 20% when Cyril Ramaphosa replaced Zuma in office.
Return on equity, which was already high at 15.3% in 2016, rose to 17.1% last year. Its cost-to-income ratio, meanwhile, fell slightly from 56.3% to 55.7%. And profit before tax went from R31 billion ($2.25 billion) to close to R35 billion in 2017.
The bank’s digital strategy has also paid off, with 2.2 million customers using its digital channels by the end of 2017.
The Johannesburg exchange’s second-largest bank by market capitalization said more of its customers use its mobile banking offering than internet banking. Mobile banking transactions processed were 32% higher than in 2016. By contrast, teller and enquiry volumes in branches declined by 14% and 13% respectively.
South Africa’s best investment bank this year is Rand Merchant Bank, which managed to weather the storm of South Africa’s political turmoil to generate improved profit and return on equity – up from 20.8% to 22.9% – in 2017.
Profit before tax rose across the board in global markets, investment banking, private equity and corporate banking.
The bank kept busy through a difficult year, working on eight debt capital markets deals, five M&A mandates, 11 project, structured and resource finance and syndicated loans, four initial public offerings and rights offers, eight leveraged loans and two private equity deals.
One deal in particular stands out for its innovation and sustainability, namely the 10-year $75 million green bond for the city of Cape Town. Proceeds are directed at the mitigation of climate change through investments in water, sanitation and transportation projects. The deal was nearly five times oversubscribed from 31 different investors.
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TanzaniaBest bank: National Microfinance Bank |
In Tanzania, banks faced a challenging business environment, not least because of the firing of 10,000 civil servants, one of the financial sector’s key customer bases.
Still, National Microfinance Bank (NMB) managed to steady the ship even as some of its competitors saw sharp drops in income.
NMB, led by chief executive Ineke Bussemaker, was able to grow its total income by 5% from TSh614 billion ($269 million) in 2016 to TSh647 billion in 2017. Its non-performing loan ratio increased from 4.9% to 6.4%, but that is comparatively healthy when the average NPL ratio across the banking sector rose from 9.1% to 12.5% in 2017.
Despite the difficulties, NMB continued to play a pivotal role in supporting business activity in various economic sectors, with a particular focus on small, medium and micro enterprises, and on agriculture and trade – key areas of strength for Tanzania.
With GDP growth close to 7%, Tanzania’s best bank may flourish next year, rather than simply surviving a challenging environment.
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TunisiaBest bank: Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie |
Tunisia’s Banque International Arabe de Tunisie (BIAT) outdid its rivals last year with its stunning growth and the expansion of its network.
Net income was up 12.5% last year, to reach TD124 million ($47.3 million), which led management to propose a dividend to the bank’s shareholders at the latest annual general meeting.
BIAT also continued to expand access to its services, adding new agencies to boost its network to a total of 203 and installing better ATMs, where customers can deposit cash and exchange foreign currency.
BIAT has also improved its digital offering for expatriate Tunisians.
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UgandaBest bank: Stanbic Bank Uganda |
Stanbic Bank Uganda experienced growth across its business, justifying once again its status as the country’s best bank.
Its loan book grew by 8%, its deposits by 18% and its profit after tax by 5%. Return on equity, meanwhile, rose from 25% to 30%.
In April, Stanbic won a prize from the central bank recognizing it as the best performing bank in Uganda government securities for the year 2017. This is the sixth consecutive year that Stanbic has won the award.
Stanbic has one of the lowest prime lending rates of all commercial banks in the country. Stanbic represented over 80% of the USh168 billion ($43.6 million) in net industry credit growth, underlining the bank’s importance in providing credit to individuals and businesses.
The bank also proactively supported the development of key sectors such as power and infrastructure by providing the financing necessary for the government’s vital and sizeable infrastructure projects. In addition to providing credit to Ugandan SMEs, Stanbic also spent more than USh125 billion in supporting local industries through supplier payments.
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ZambiaBest bank: Zambia National Commercial Bank |
This year, Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco) dethrones Standard Chartered to become Zambia’s best bank, thanks to a 19% increase in deposits, a 15% increase in net interest income and a 19% improvement in total operating income.
The bank also continued to deliver on its medium-term plan to establish Zanaco as the leading transactional and digital bank in the country by 2020. The bank’s performance was boosted by these efforts, as was its share price, which tripled in 2017.
The bank is also streamlining its business, drastically reducing its cost-to-income ratio from 88% in 2016 to 70% in 2017, although it is still high by international standards.
It successfully launched the Zanaco Mobile Application using its ground-breaking Xapit Platform, which was also refreshed and strengthened. This highlights the bank’s commitment to investing in technology to enhance service delivery and enable greater financial inclusion.
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ZimbabweBest bank: Standard Chartered |
As in Angola and in South Africa, it was a year of substantial upheaval in Zimbabwe, as president Robert Mugabe was forced to step down and was replaced by long-time political ally Emmerson Mnangagwa.
It will take time to determine what effect this will have on the country’s economic and financial development. But already Standard Chartered Zimbabwe, the winner of Zimbabwe’s best bank award this year, has collaborated with the UK government to lend $100 million to Zimbabwe’s private sector – the first direct commercial loan to the southern African country in over two decades. This early financing bodes well for the bank’s prospects in the post-Mugabe era.
For now Zimbabwe remains one of the least-developed countries in Africa in terms of internet penetration, which limits banks’ ability to reach those in remote areas and the unbanked. Still, Standard Chartered has made efforts to encourage the take-up of 21st century banking tools by local customers by introducing an internet banking platform.
And in spite of everything, the bank’s profit after tax has risen by over 10%. It will now be key for the bank to place itself at the centre of the foreign investment that observers expect to flow into the country.
