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Crane Bank, headquartered in Kampala, has branches in Iganga, Jinga, Mbale, Lira and Gulu. It is a privately held bank so figures and research are hard to come, but what is clear is that its customers are generally satisfied. The bank claims to be the second largest in Uganda in terms of assets, second for return on equity, and third in profitability. It is a universal bank, offering retail as well as trade finance and investment banking. Crane Bank is another in the region that equity investors will be hoping will be encouraged to launch an IPO soon.

Millennium BIM was born from a strategic partnership between the Mozambican government and Banco Commercial Português. It is part of the Millennium BCP group, which has branches in Portugal, Angola, China, Macau, Poland, Turkey and the US. It has the lion’s share of the Mozambique banking market, with more than 500,000 clients and a market share of 40%. Net income in 2007 reached MT1.4 billion ($60 million), up nearly 37% from 2006. Millennium BIM has nearly 100 branches throughout the country. A private institution, it has equity investors salivating at the thought of when it might launch an IPO.

Every cloud has a silver lining. With the international debt markets only now open to a select few Russian corporates, and with many Russian banks strapped for cash, there are plenty off opportunities for asset managers to lend to strong corporate credits at distressed debt-type margins.

Banco Agrícola remains best bank in El Salvador, with net profit margins up 30.38% in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared with a year before. Net income totalled $237.2 million in 2007, an increase of $61.8 million on 2006 and total assets increased to $3.79 billion, up from $3.33 billion the year before.

Santander Totta is truly in a class of its own in Portugal. In a year when most of its biggest rivals have attracted headlines for all the wrong reasons – losses, intrigue, scandal – Totta has been quietly gaining ground.

NYSE plans rule changes to improve the competitiveness of its trading floor.

Muslim Commercial Bank is again nominated best bank in Pakistan. Moreover, MCB has proven itself to be one of the best-performing banks in Asia, and garners our award this year for best overall regional bank in Asia. The award is well deserved. MCB posted a 26% rise in full-year 2007 profits, to PRs15.3 billion ($242 million). Analysts attribute the strong performance to an aggressive foray into consumer finance and low administrative charges. MCB is well placed geographically and financially. Its return on assets at March 31 2008 stood at 5.69% – one of the highest rates in the world – and its solid financial performance continued this year, with profit after tax rising to PRs4.1 billion in the first quarter of 2008, up more than 10%. MCB’s financials have hardly been ruffled by the challenging global environment. "Pakistan is very non-correlated to the US economy – rather, it is strongly connected to the Gulf region, which is driving the investment in Pakistan stocks," says a Hong Kong-based investment banker. "Moreover, Pakistan has one of the best and strongest banking sectors in the world, with MCB the strongest bank in the country. They’re a class act." MCB has been further boosted by the sale of a 15% stake to Maybank of Malaysia this year for $680 million. Maybank’s acquisition, at 5.1 times book, shows how highly MCB is valued – Maybank has the right to boost its stake to 20% by May 2009. The Pakistan bank said the alliance enabled Maybank to join forces with a lender with a strong consumer and Islamic banking franchise.

Bankers, analysts and investors based in Ho Chi Minh City barely pause for breath when asked to name Vietnam’s best commercial lender. Asia Commercial Bank again wins this award hands down. "ACB is a little more conservative than its closest rival, Sacombank, and way ahead of the others in the market," says a Ho Chi Minh City-based fund manager. A leader in broking, asset management and leasing, ACB posted unaudited gross profit of D1.76 trillion ($110 million), up nearly 300% year on year, with loans surging 87% over the same period to D32 trillion. The Ho Chi Minh City-based institution continued its performance into 2008, posting unaudited gross profit of D501 billion in the first quarter of the year.

"We’ve certainly seen some clients actively seeking out firms that have avoided the worst of the problems. I should say ‘there, but for the grace of God’... but the truth is, we’ve so far avoided massive write-downs and that’s allowed us to focus on our clients and their needs, and not have to be very focused on ourselves"