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Like in the neighbouring Czech Republic, foreign groups own all five of Slovakia’s top five banks. And like in the Czech Republic and elsewhere, higher interest rates have brought higher profits – and new taxes on banks, in Slovakia’s case following the formation of a new government in October last year.

The bank’s 10-year ScotiaRise programme has gone from strength to strength, reaching out to indigenous communities and aligning with its truth and reconciliation committee’s work.

Societe Generale’s global reputation as a driver of green and sustainable principles and investment, plus its long presence across Africa, combine to make the Paris-based lender a clear winner of this award on the continent.

SEB, a regular winner of this award, certainly did not rest on its laurels in 2023, posting strong financial results and was able to boast a host of developments across its franchises. For its consistently dominant performance, it is once again Sweden’s best bank.

The bank has cleaned up its books, closed branches and improved its cost-to-income ratio. It also paid its first dividend since 2008.

Under group chief executive Andrea Orcel, UniCredit has reaffirmed its commitment to central and eastern Europe – highlighted by its announcement of the €300 million purchase of Alpha Bank Romania, part of a deal that also involved it taking a stake in the Athens-based group.

Brazil’s Nubank is the momentum story in global banking. In 2023, the bank added 19 million clients (to a total of 93.9 million), and it now can claim to bank 53% of the adult population of Brazil. It is also now seeing a positive operating leverage effect from the growth in its client base. In the fourth quarter of 2023, it recorded revenue of $2.4 billion (Nubank is listed on the NYSE and all its earnings are reported in dollars), which was up 57% on an annual basis. Net income jumped 489% to $360.9 million, with a return on equity of 23%.

A strong financial performance together with a series of new initiatives, including in environmental, social and governance, make Standard Bank Euromoney’s best bank in South Africa this year.

Nerves were jangling hard in Europe last year, when the panic that had seen many tens of billions of dollars’ worth of deposits flee large US regional banks in a matter of hours suddenly began emerging in Europe.

BDO Unibank, the Philippines’ largest bank, turned in an exceptional financial performance in 2023, cementing its position as the country’s best bank.

A spike in Armenian bank M&A this year has underscored the growth opportunity for banks in the local market. The country’s best bank, Ameriabank, was bought by Bank of Georgia earlier this year, and Ardshinbank is in the process of acquiring HSBC Armenia.

Established in 1947 as Pakistan’s first commercial bank, HBL has consistently been at the forefront of the banking industry’s evolution. Last year, it solidified its position as a trailblazer, delivering impressive financial results while demonstrating its commitment to innovation. In recognition of this it receives the award for Pakistan’s best bank.