Nine Nigerian banks have been ranked among the 1000 global banks by The
Banker magazine in London.
The banks are Zenith Bank Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated,
FirstBank, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) and Access Banks. Others are,
Diamond Bank Plc, the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Fidelity Bank Plc
and First City Monument Bank. The aforementioned banks were also ranked
among the top 25 banks in Africa.
According to a statement from The Banker on Monday, Zenith Bank was ranked
number one among Nigeria’s top banks in terms of tier-1 capital, but sixth
in Africa with a capital of $3.162 billion.
It was followed by Ecobank Transnational which emerged second in Nigeria
and 7th in Africa with a capital base of $3.030 billion. FirstBank was
ranked third in Nigeria and 10th in Africa with a capital of $2.327
billion.
Next in the ranking was GTBank which came fourth in Nigeria and 13th in
Africa. The Banker report also placed Access Bank on the fifth position in
Nigeria but 15th in Africa with a capital base of $1.398 billion.
Others include Diamond Bank which emerged sixth in Nigeria and 17th in
Africa, UBA ranked seventh in Nigeria and 17th in Africa while Fidelity
Bank ranked eighth in Nigeria and 21 in Africa. The organisation also
placed FCMB ninth in Nigeria to make the top 25 banks in Africa.
The statement explained that: “Nigeria’s banks endured a difficult close
to 2014, as the significant slump in oil prices caused havoc with the
country’s economy. Zenith Bank has held its position as the sixth largest
bank in Africa, and First Bank of Nigeria has risen from 424th to 371st on
the global list. However, Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank has dropped from
415th to 449th, with its capital base decreasing from $1.95 billion to
$1.78 billion.
“Access Bank, Fidelity Bank and United Bank for Africa have also slipped
down the rankings, though Diamond Bank joins the African top 25 at 579th
in the global rankings.”
It further said: “The difficulties of the South African economy are
reflected in its banks’ performances in the 2015 Top 1000 ranking, but
elsewhere there is good news for Togo’s Ecobank and FirstBank of Nigeria.”
The statement also noted that: “For South Africa’s banking sector, the
largest in Africa, 2014 passed in a similar vein to 2013 – both years were
dominated by the weak performance of the national economy and the ensuing
volatility of the rand. In 2013, the rand lost 13 per cent of its value
against the dollar, and though 2014 did not see another rapid
depreciation, rand volatility remained high. This hampered the ability of
South Africa’s banks to improve their capital adequacy.
“Standard Bank remains the continent’s largest bank, though it has dropped
from 116th to 123rd in the overall ranking and its tier-1 capital has
fallen slightly from $10.56 billion to $10.18 billion. FirstRand has held
its regional ranking position and increased its capital slightly, but
Nedbank Group has dropped from 195th position to 216th and has seen its
capital base drop to $4.76 billion, from $5.11 billion. Barclays Africa
Group, previously known as Absa Group, would have come third in the
African rankings with a tier-1 capital base of $6.09 billion, but is
excluded from the main ranking as it is a subsidiary of the UK’s
Barclays.”