North Africa’s Prime Banks in 2023

International Courant

Six out of Africa’s high 10 banks are based mostly in North Africa. They’ve flourished regardless of unstable change charges, inflation, falling funding, and even meals shortages and excessive costs after provides from Ukraine and Russia had been disrupted by conflict. No financial institution within the regional high 20 desk confirmed internet losses, though some had decrease internet earnings in comparison with the 2022 rating. 

Banking in Egypt stays dominated by Nationwide Financial institution of Egypt and Banque Misr. Pressures on the banks embody their giant holdings of presidency debt as Egypt slips in direction of a sovereign debt disaster, which may damage each home and overseas lenders to the federal government. It is usually exhausting to entry overseas forex, and the banks have an enormous overseas belongings deficit; however the authorities has solely restricted capability to intervene in a compensation disaster. 

The turmoil doesn’t present within the eerie calm of the highest banks regional desk, partly as a result of the figures used to rank #1 Nationwide Financial institution of Egypt and #2 Banque Misr are nonetheless from December 2021, as in final 12 months’s rating, and so weren’t affected by the slide within the change fee for Egypt’s pound. 

Morocco’s Attijariwafa Financial institution (#3 within the area) and Banque Centrale Populaire (#4) are unchanged from the 12 months earlier than, based mostly on outcomes printed in December 2022 – which present Tier 1 capital of $5.4bn (down from $5.9bn) and $4.7bn (down from $5bn) respectively, largely according to the 11% decline within the dirham in opposition to the greenback over the interval. Earnings are up, with Attjariwafa scoring $714m in internet revenue (up from $666m) and BCP $336m (up from $295m). 

Banque Extérieure d’Algérie and Banque Nationale d’Algérie are ranked on December 2021 figures (final 12 months on 2020 figures) they usually displaced Egypt’s Business Worldwide Financial institution and Morocco’s Financial institution of Africa – BMCE Group from the #5 and #6 rankings. Algeria’s six greatest banks are state-owned and maintain between 90% and 95% of the banking belongings in an opaque sector nonetheless largely avoiding technical advance, in an economic system the place money continues to be king.

In 2021, company IHS Markit rated the banks in Algeria and Tunisia as “very excessive threat”. In Algeria that is partly as a result of 51% of banking loans are to state-owned enterprises (SOEs), together with enterprises in oil and gasoline, development and tourism. In April 2023, Fitch upgraded the working surroundings rating for Tunisian banks to “CCC+” according to enhancements of the nation’s sovereign ranking.

Tier 1 capital at Banque Exterieure d’Algérie climbed from $3.2bn to $3.6bn and earnings moved from $519m to $516m, in comparison with a 1.15% appreciation of the dinar in opposition to the greenback over 2021. Tier 1 capital at Banque Nationale d’Algérie slipped again from $3.1bn to $3bn and earnings climbed from $174m to $336m.

Tunisia’s second financial institution within the regional rating is Banque Nationale Agricole (#19) with Tier 1 capital of $676m, belongings of $6.9bn and internet earnings of $63m. The #20 spot goes to Crédit du Maroc with Tier 1 capital of $614m, internet belongings of $6.4bn and earnings of $68m.

Associated article

The regional Prime 20

The Prime 100 Banks survey ranks the banks in line with their Tier 1 capital. This consists of: capital + reserves + retained earnings + minority pursuits. These are printed in native currencies after which transformed into US {dollars} on the change charges on the year-end date within the outcomes (or on 31 December 2022), so altering FX charges can have an effect on the rating.

We accumulate the information from Bankers’ Almanac, Moody’s Analytics BankFocus and the in-house analysis of African Enterprise, excluding some banks the place information is outdated or unreliable. The desk beneath lists the Prime 20 banks within the North African area together with their positions within the continental rating.

North Africa’s Prime Banks in 2023

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