In its 2018 report published yesterday, The Banker Magazine placed five of Nigeria’s biggest banks among the top 1000 banks in the world.
The banks include First Bank Nigeria Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc. It is unsurprising that all these banks comprise Nigeria’s tier 1 banks otherwise known as FUGAZ.
Note that tier 1 banks are banks with the biggest capitalisation. They have strong financial capabilities to withstand all kinds of unforeseen circumstances.
A breakdown of the 2018 ranking
Zenith Bank Plc is the first Nigerian bank to be placed on the list, ranking in at number 402. The company moved up from the 430th position it occupied in 2017.
Following Zenith Bank Plc is Guaranty Trust Bank Plc which occupied number 576th position out of 1000 in the world.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited is the third Nigeria bank to be placed on the ranking, ranking in at number 592 position in the world.
Access Bank Plc came next, ranking as the 630th bank in the world.
Lastly, United Bank for Africa (UBA) occupied the 856th position is the last Nigerian bank to place on the 2018 top global bank ranking.
Africa’s improving financial fortunes
The Banker Magazine also stated in the report that generally, Africa’s economy have improved considerably since 2017, following years of difficult economic realities which impacted negatively on products’ prices, and by extension the capital markets of the some of the continent’s largest bourses.
Some of the top performing African banks on The Banker Magazine’s 2018 ranking are- Stanadard Bank, First Rand, NedBank, ABSA, and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. These banks are mostly of South African origin. They are also among the top 10 African banks by Tier 1 capital.
Comparatively, quite a number of African banks performed better in this year’s ranking compared to their performance in the preceding year.
“Together, the world’s largest 1000 banks hold nearly 12 per cent more Tier 1 capital in the 2018 ranking than they did in the 2017 version, marking the biggest annual increase since 2009.” -The Banker Magazine
The report also stated that the banking industry in Africa “is growing at a faster pace than assets. This is revealed by the global capital-to-asset ratio, a variant of Basel’s three per cent leverage ratio, but which excludes off-balance-sheet items, rising 16 basis points (bps), compared with a more modest six bps one year ago.”
Established in 1926, the Banker Magazine serves as a reliable source of information for the global banking industry. Every year, the magazine releases its 1000 bank report. More details about this year’s report can be read HERE.