The leading banks in Nigeria such as Zenith, FirstBank, Guaranty Trust, Access, United Bank for Africa and Diamond Bank have been listed among the top 25 banks in Africa in the Banker Magazine’s 2017 1000 global ranking of banks.
Zenith was ranked first in Nigeria with a capital of $2.105 billion,10th in Africa and 430 in the world. FirstBank, with $1.422 billion tier-1 capital came second in Nigeria, 12th in Africa and 567th in the world. Guaranty Trust Bank made the third position in Nigeria with a capital of $1.329 billion, 13th position in Africa and 588th in the global ranking. In the fourth position was Access Bank, ranked 14th in Africa and 628th in global ranking.
The United Bank for Africa, is fifth ranked bank in Nigeria, 22nd in Africa and 832 globally, while Diamond Bank came sixth in Nigeria, 24th in Africa and 881 among the top 1000 banks in the world.
Zenith Bank made the seventh in Africa in last year’s ranking. This was attributed to a 25 per cent decline in the bank’s Tier-1 capital, occasioned by the poor performance of the naira during the period. The Banker Magazine stated that virtually all Nigerian banks experienced similar decline in thier Tier-1 capital during the review period.
“Africa’s leading economies faced adverse conditions over the 2016 review period, as low commodity prices continue to shake the continent’s growth trajectory. Dealing with a shortage of foreign exchange, heightened political risk and volatile currencies, the performances of some regional lenders have suffered,” said the magazine. It added, however, that most of the banks improved.
“Yet, as the rankings demonstrate, this is not a one-dimensional story. In some cases, African lenders have improved on their positions in the Top 1000 ranking, helped in part by prudent growth strategies and diversified business models,” explained the magazine.