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In Bolivia, political tensions continue to run high as disputes over an east-west split in the country intensify. Despite this the banking sector has grown in the past 12 months, with both Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz and Banco Nacional de Bolivia showing the strongest growth rates and market shares in terms of loans. However, it is Banco de Crédito de Bolivia that claims the highest net income for the past year. As of March 2008, BCP’s net income was ranked in first place in the industry, showing a 29% increase over the same period in 2007.

Goldman Sachs

Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair After taking over from his father, Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair went against advice to put his own vision in place.

Getting to the top is easy, it’s staying there that’s difficult. Not that it seems to be a problem for National Bank of Kuwait. The firm is universally recognized as one of a handful of Middle Eastern banks that sets the standard for others to follow.

Ansher Capital is the leading investment bank in Uzbekistan, and the flagship of its parent, Singapore-based Ansher Holding group. Ansher has pioneered a number of new instruments and transactions in Uzbekistan, including corporate bonds, M&A and equity private placements. The bank now holds leadership positions in all three. In 2007, Ansher played a leading role in attracting international investors to the Uzbek securities market, from such countries as Germany, the UK, Sweden, Russia and the US. Ansher also advised on the establishment of hedge funds with a focus on the central Asian region, such as the Central Asia Property Fund, which are entering the region thanks to improved conditions in the traditionally difficult, closed economies of Uzbekistan and other central Asian countries. The shareholders of Ansher Holding group are keen to facilitate further growth by going public in the near future, and Ansher Capital will have a key role to play in accomplishing that.

In Indonesia, bigger seems to be better. Indonesia’s largest lender, Bank Mandiri, gets the nod for a year of consolidation during which it cleaned up a ropey loan book and managed to lift profits by 80%.

TCI

Last year’s award to went to Equity Bank, thanks to its efforts to encourage the unbanked to get involved with the banking sector. This year there was no doubt that it should win the award again. In fact several bankers we talked to threatened to boycott Euromoney if Equity didn’t win the award; one banker went so far as to say that it deserved the best bank in Africa award.

Raiffeisen Bank managed to extend its market leadership in Albania, despite increased competition from such rivals as Banka Kombetare Tregtare and American Bank of Albania. Raiffeisen Bank Albania is firmly ranked as the number one bank by assets, deposits and loans, on both a corporate and retail basis. The bank continues to extend its client coverage and now has 97 branches, almost three times those of its nearest rival; 154 ATMs, double its closest competitor’s; and more than 400 point-of-sales terminals. The bank also extended its mobile banking team, reaching out to previously unbanked sections of the population. Thanks to this expansion, Raiffeisen Bank managed to grow its customer base by 14% in 2007, which helped it double its retail lending, while corporate loans rose by 45%. Growth did not come at the cost of profitability, however. The bank reported a cost-income ratio of 40% and a pre-tax return on equity of 58%.

Despite being neighbours and indeed competitors of US counterparts, Canada’s banks have fared much better than them in avoiding sub-prime related losses. And of all the Canadian financial groups one bank stands out as having enjoyed the best 2007-08 period – TD Bank. TD is the only large bank in Canada to have had no credit-related write-downs.

RBS RBS has risen to the stiff challenge of the European market post credit crunch and established a serious US franchise.

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs took part in all the standout deals in emerging markets over the past 12 months.