Unfortunately, Nigerian banks could not make it to the list of the top 30 largest banks in the Middle East and Africa in 2017. According to the largest global bank rankings report from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the two Countries that recorded the highest assets, hence accounting for N668.18 billion in assets were South Africa and Egypt.
Qatar National Bank with a total asset of $229.01 billion ranked first, having the highest total asset and has been the largest bank in Africa and the Middle East for the third time consecutively. Ranking second however was Abu Dhabi Bank.
Standard Bank Group ranked 3rd on the list, First Rand ranked 8th, Barclays Africa Group ranked 9th and NedBankGroup ranked 13th, InvestecLtd as the 27th, and are all South African Banks. Their position on the list can largely be attributed to the strength of the Rand against the Dollar.
The Egyptian banks that made it to the list include National Bank of Egypt which ranked 14th, AttijariwataBank of Morocco taking the 23rd position, Banque Misr SAE of Egypt at the 28th position.
Although not in the top 30, the top five Nigerian banks by total assets include Zenith Bank with total assets of N5.59 trillion, FBN Holdings with total assets of N5.23 trillion, Access Bank $11.394 billion, UBA had a total asset record of N4.06 trillion and Guaranteed Trust Bank with a total asset value of N3.51 trillion.
However, the Managing Director of Financial Institutions at S&P Global Market Intelligence, JP O’Sullivan said he expects that as banks improve in terms of profit, there should be a shift from cost-cutting to sustainable growth.
On a global ranking, China had the highest asset holding with its four biggest banks being Industrial &Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China at a combined $13.637 trillion. This can be attributed to the strengthening of the Yuan against the US dollar.
The US had the second highest with a total asset of $12.196 trillion with 11 of its banks.
In Europe, HSBC remained the largest European bank with a total of US$2.522 trillion in assets.
Asian banks, however, continue to dominate and lead the S&P Global Market Intelligence global bank ranking.
Photo Credit: The Wire
