A testament to the sheer size of South Africa’s giant banks is that while only six banks from the country are on the top 100 bank list, they dominate the regional rankings, as has been the case for many years. Standard Bank remains at the top. Absa has dropped to second place in the regional rankings due to a decline in Nedbank’s tier 1 capital.
The two South African banks following the big four are Investec Bank ($2.2 billion in tier 1 capital, rising to 12th in Africa) and Capitec Bank ($1.6 billion in tier 1 capital, dropping from 19th to 21st in Africa).
These banks are well capitalized and well diversified with significant operations in Africa and globally. They are accustomed to South Africa’s volatile business and political environment. They have expanded across Africa to counter sluggish growth at home and, according to S&P Global Ratings, are “highly profitable despite challenging macroeconomic conditions.”
While the company is expanding its retail business, it has a particular strength in helping companies in sub-Saharan Africa access international investors in the Middle East, Europe, America, Australia and Asia, as well as providing trade and financing for infrastructure.
Mauritius also has very strong domestic banking and is a centre for South African and international banks to expand into Africa. There are five banks in the regional rankings, topped by Mauritius Commercial Bank (7th in the region and 24th among the top banks in Africa). Other top Mauritian banks are SBM Bank (Mauritius), Investec Bank (Mauritius), Standard Chartered Bank (Mauritius) and HSBC Bank (Mauritius).
Four banks from Angola feature in the top 100. Banco de Fomento Angola is ranked 39th in the top banks ranking, with tier 1 capital of $681 million in its latest results as of December 2022, up from $482 million a year ago. Banco Angolano de Investimentos is ranked 50th and Banco BIC is ranked 53rd.
Savings and credit bank Banco de Paupança e Credito (BCP) lost $238 million in the year to December 2022 against tier 1 capital of $413 million, ranking it 62nd in Africa.
In August 2024, BCP announced it had sold 80% of its non-performing loan portfolio to Recredit SAO, a state-owned institution established in 2016. Recredit SAO said on its website that its main objective was to manage the systemic risk posed by BCP.
Mozambique has three banks ranked in the top 100: Standard Bank (Mozambique), ranked 57th in Africa with $445 million in Tier 1 capital; Millennium BIM (58th), majority owned by Portugal’s Millennium BCP Digital Bank; and Banco Commercial e de Investimentos (74th), majority owned by Portugal’s state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depócitos. BCI is the most profitable with a net profit of $128 million and an ROE of 36%.
In Namibia, only Bank of Windhoek with tier 1 capital of $302 million retains the top spot at 83rd place.
