Global Finance’s 27th annual awards for the World’s Best Banks honor winners in more than 150 countries and seven global regions, as well as eight regions in the US.
The coming year is certain to be challenging for banks worldwide. Economic setbacks stemming from the Covid-19 crisis could prompt them to take a closer look at credit quality and tighten lending standards to contain nonperforming loans in hard-hit sectors. Meanwhile, low and negative interest rates and yield-curve inversions, a product in part of central banks’ efforts to contain the economic fallout, are challenging bank profitability. And societal concerns about such issues as climate change and banks’ commitment to socially responsible policies have come to the fore.
Even before the novel coronavirus fastened its grip, Deloitte’s 2020 banking industry outlook predicted that banks would be forced to set new social priorities and sacrifice short-term gains for long-term sustainability. “The low-growth scenario, in particular, could result in a drastic reduction in banking capacity, with fewer banks than we have today able to recover their cost of equity,” according to the December 2019 report.
The health crisis only worsens an already problematic situation. “Borrowers’ cash flow will come under increasing pressure over the second half of 2020 as the global spread of the coronavirus materially slows economic activity,” says Olivier Panis, head of Financial Institutions at Moody’s Investors Service in Paris. “Increased credit spreads, distorted capital markets and lower capital liquidity in some banking systems could prompt borrowers to increase their drawdowns of available bank credit facilities, which in turn will put pressure on liquidity ratios.”
The good news is that despite their exposures, the biggest global investment banks have good levels of high-quality liquid assets available to cover borrowers’ needs as they accelerate their drawdown rates, Panis adds.
But banks face other problems. In March, Fitch Ratings downgraded its outlook for US banks from stable to negative, predicting that the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates to near zero “will adversely affect spread revenue for a number of quarters, while fee income will be hampered from low levels of client activity.” Many central banks around the world have followed the Fed with rate cuts of their own.
Despite the squeeze on their profits, commercial banks in many countries cut fees and eased repayment requirements, often at the urging of their central banks, to help manage the crisis.
No one is spared when a crisis of this magnitude unfolds, but those that display solid fundamentals stand a better chance of making it through this difficult period in a healthy and competitive state. The winners of Global Finance’s Best Bank Awards are financial institutions that best display these qualities.
Methodology
Global Finance editors, with input from industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts, selects the winners for the Best Bank Awards using entries provided by banks and other providers, as well as independent research based on a set of objective and subjective factors. It is not necessary to enter in order to win, but experience shows that the additional information supplied in an entry can increase the chance of success. In many cases, entrants are able to provide details and insights that may not be readily available to the editors.
Judgments were based on performance over the period from January 1 to December 31, 2019. We applied an algorithm to shorten the list of contenders and arrived at a numerical score, with 100 equivalent to perfection. The proprietary algorithm incorporates criteria—including knowledge of local conditions and customer needs, financial strength and safety, strategic relationships and governance, competitive pricing, capital investment and innovation in products and services—weighted for relative importance.
Once we have narrowed the field, our final criteria include scope of global coverage, size of staff, customer service, risk management, range of products and services, execution skills and smart use of technology. In the case of a tie, our bias leans toward a local provider rather than a global institution. We also tend to favor privately owned banks over government-owned institutions. The winners are those banks that best serve the specialized needs of corporations as they engage in global business. The winners are not always the biggest, but rather the best: those with qualities that companies should look for when choosing a provider.
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WORLD’S BEST BANKS 2020 |
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Regional Winners |
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|---|---|
| North America | Bank of America |
| Latin America | Santander |
| Western Europe | CaixaBank |
| Central & Eastern Europe | Raiffeisen Bank International |
| Asia-Pacific | DBS |
| Middle East | Arab Bank |
| Africa | Standard Bank |
North America Winners |
|
|---|---|
| Bermuda | Butterfield Bank |
| Canada | Royal Bank of Canada |
| United States | Bank of America |
Latin America Winners |
|
|---|---|
| Argentina | Banco Marco |
| Bahamas | Scotiabank Bahamas |
| Barbados | RBC Royal Bank |
| Belize | Belize Bank |
| Bolivia | Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz |
| Brazil | Banco Bradesco |
| Cayman Islands | Cayman National Bank |
| Chile | Banco de Chile |
| Colombia | Banco de Bogotá |
| Costa Rica | BAC Credomatic |
| Dominican Republic | Banreservas |
| Ecuador | Produbanco |
| El Salvador | Banco Cuscatlán |
| Guatemala | Banco Industrial |
| Honduras | Banco Atlántida |
| Jamaica | National Commercial Bank |
| Mexico | BBVA Bancomer |
| Nicaragua | Banco LAFISE Bancentro |
| Panama | Banco General |
| Paraguay | Banco Itaú Paraguay |
| Peru | BBVA Peru |
| Puerto Rico | Banco Popular de Puerto Rico |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago |
| Turks & Caicos | Scotiabank Turks & Caicos |
| Uruguay | Banco Santander Uruguay |
| US Virgin Islands | FirstBank Virgin Islands |
| Venezuela | Mercantil Banco Universal |
Western Europe Winners |
|
|---|---|
| Andorra | Credit Andorra |
| Austria | BAWAG Group |
| Belgium | BNP Paribas |
| Cyprus | Hellenic Bank |
| Denmark | Nordea |
| Finland | Nordea |
| France | Credit Mutuel |
| Germany | DZ Bank |
| Greece | Eurobank Ergasias |
| Iceland | Landsbankinn |
| Ireland | Allied Irish Bank |
| Italy | Unicredit |
| Liechenstein | LLB |
| Luxembourg | BCEE |
| Malta | HSBC |
| Monaco | CFM Indosuez Wealth |
| Netherlands | ING |
| Norway | DNB |
| Portugal | Banco Santander Totta |
| Spain | CaixaBank |
| Sweden | SEB |
| Switzerland | Credit Suisse |
| UK | Barclays |
Central & Eastern Europe Winners |
|
|---|---|
| Albania | Banka Kombetare Tregtare |
| Armenia | Ardshinbank |
| Belarus | Belarusbank |
| Bosnia & Hercegovina | UniCredit |
| Bulgaria | UniCredit Bulbank |
| Croatia | Raiffeisenbank |
| Czech Republic | CSOB |
| Estonia | SEB Pank |
| Georgia | TBC Pank |
| Hungary | OTP Bank |
| Kosovo | TEB Bank |
| Latvia | SEB banka Latvia |
| Lithuania | Sialiu Bankas |
| Moldova | Moldova Agroindbank |
| Montenegro | CKB |
| North Macedonia | Ohridska Banka |
| Poland | PKO Polski |
| Romania | Banca Transilvania |
| Russia | Alfa-Bank |
| Serbia | Banca Intesa Beograd |
| Slovakia | Slovenska Sporitelna |
| Slovenia | SKB Banka |
| Turkey | Akbank |
| Ukraine | Raiffeisen Bank Aval |
Asia-Pacific Winners |
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|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Ghazanfar Bank |
| Australia | Commonwealth Bank |
| Azerbaijan | International Bank of Azerbaijan |
| Bangladesh | Prime Bank |
| Brunei Darussalam | Baiduri Bank |
| Cambodia | ABA Bank |
| China | ICBC |
| Hong Kong | The Bank of East Asia |
| India | State Bank of India |
| Indonesia | Bank Mandiri |
| Japan | SMBC |
| Kazakhstan | ForteBank |
| Kyrgyzstan | Optima Bank |
| Macau | ICBC Macau |
| Malaysia | Maybank |
| Mongolia | Khan Bank |
| Myanmar | CB Bank |
| Nepal | Rastriya Banijya |
| New Zealand | Westpac New Zealand |
| Pakistan | Habib Bank |
| Philippines | BDO Unibank |
| Singapore | DBS |
| South Korea | Hana Bank |
| Sri Lanka | Commercial Bank of Ceylon |
| Taiwan | E.Sun |
| Thailand | Bangkok Bank |
| Uzbekistan | Asia Alliance Bank |
| Vietnam | MSB |
Middle East Winners |
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|---|---|
| Bahrain | Ahli United Bank |
| Egypt | Commercial International Bank |
| Iraq | Trade Bank of Iraq |
| Israel | Bank Hapoalim |
| Jordan | Arab Bank |
| Kuwait | National Bank of Kuwait |
| Lebanon | BLOM Bank |
| Oman | Bank Muscat |
| Palestine | Bank of Palestine |
| Qatar | Qatar National Bank |
| Saudi Arabia | SABB |
| United Arab Emirates | First Abu Dhabi Bank |
| Yemen | Arab Bank Yemen |
Africa Winners |
|
|---|---|
| Algeria | Societe Generale Algerie |
| Angola | Banco de Fomento Angola |
| Benin | Banque Atlantique |
| Botswana | Absa Bank Botswana |
| Burkina Faso | United Bank for Africa |
| Cameroon | Societe Generale Cameroun |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Banque Atlantique |
| DR Congo | Trust Merchant Bank |
| Djibouti | CAC International Bank |
| Equatorial Guinea | National Bank of Equatorial Guinea |
| Ethiopia | Commercial Bank of Ethiopia |
| Gambia | Ecobank Gambia |
| Ghana | Fidelity Bank Ghana |
| Guinea | Societe Generale de Banques en Guinée |
| Kenya | KCB Bank Kenya |
| Madagascar | BNI Madagascar |
| Malawi | National Bank of Malawi |
| Mali | Ecobank Mali |
| Mauritius | SBM Bank |
| Morocco | Attijariwafa Bank |
| Mozambique | Millennium bim |
| Namibia | First National Bank of Namibia |
| Nigeria | Zenith Bank |
| Rwanda | I&M Bank Rwanda |
| Senegal | Societe Generale Senegal |
| Sierra Leone | Union Trust Bank |
| South Africa | Standard Bank |
| Sudan | Omdurman National Bank |
| Tanzania | CRDB Bank |
| Togo | Ecobank Togo |
| Tunisia | Amen Bank |
| Uganda | Stanbic Bank Uganda |
| Zambia | Zambia National Commercial Bank |
| Zimbabwe | CBZ Bank |
US Regional Winners |
|
|---|---|
| Far West | Union Bank |
| Great Lakes | US Bancorp |
| Mid-Atlantic | Citizens Bank |
| New England | Citizens Bank |
| Plains | US Bancorp |
| Rocky Mountain | Zions Bancorp |
| Southeast | Trust Corp. (formerly SunTrust) |
| Southwest | US Bancorp |
