TIPTOEING THROUGH THE MINEFIELD
Growing litigation expenses and fines, new regulations and tighter capital requirements have created a minefield for banks, particularly in the US and Europe. Banks are reinventing themselves after cleansing their books of the bad loans from the financial crisis. Lower loan-loss provisions are a one-shot deal, requiring bankers to find new ways to grow revenue. Many banks are returning to the basics of taking deposits and making loans, while harnessing new technology to improve efficiency. However, some are returning to the “slice and dice” techniques that got them in trouble six years ago.
The only sure way to guard against a future breakdown of the financial system is for regulators to put “more boots on the ground,” says Thomas Curry, US Comptroller of the Currency. “What’s most important is the presence of examiners, seasoned professionals who bring the benefit of sound judgment and years of experience to their work,” he told a recent conference at Boston University. Banking regulators around the world are beginning to work more closely with one another, he said, noting that bank examiners from Australia, Canada and Singapore had reviewed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s large and midsize bank supervision program last December, and that some of their recommendations will be implemented.
Meanwhile, banking and capital market CEOs are showing signs of optimism about the global economy, according to a survey by PwC. “Industry leaders see technology, including the digital economy, social media, mobile devices, big data and other developments, as likely to have a transformational impact on their businesses over the next five years,” says Robert Sullivan, global banking and capital markets leader at PwC. But many bank CEOs say that regulatory upheaval is making it difficult for them to deal with these longer-term trends, Sullivan says.
In our 21st annual survey, Global Finance identifies the best banks in 150 countries and eight regions. The winners are not always the biggest banks, but rather, the best—those with the qualities that corporations should look for when choosing a bank. In selecting the winners, we relied on input from industry analysts, corporate executives and banking consultants, as well as research by Global Finance’s reporters and editors. Our selection criteria included knowledge of local conditions and customer needs, growth in assets, profitability, strategic relationships, innovative products, competitive pricing, level of nonperforming loans and effective use of technology.
Awards By Region (Full List Below):
North America
Western Europe
Central & Eastern Europe
Latin America
Asia-Pacific
Middle East
Africa
Best U.S. Regional Banks
WORLD’S BEST BANKS OF 2014
| REGIONAL WINNERS | |
| North America | Bank of America |
| Western Europe | ING |
| Nordic Region | Nordea |
| CEE | Raiffeisen Bank International |
| Latin America | Banco Santander |
| Asia-Pacific | DBS Bank |
| Middle East | Arab Bank |
| Africa | Standard Bank |
| US REGIONAL BANK WINNERS | |
| New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont | Eastern Bank |
| Mideast: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania | PNC Bank |
| Great Lakes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin | U.S. Bancorp |
| Plains: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota | UMB Financial |
| Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia | SunTrust |
| Southwest: Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas | Comerica |
| Rocky Mountain: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming | Zions Bancorporation |
| Far West: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington | Silicon Valley Bank |
| COUNTRY WINNERS – DEVELOPED MARKETS | |
| NORTH AMERICA | |
| Bermuda | HSBC Bank Bermuda |
| Canada | Royal Bank of Canada |
| US | Bank of America |
| WESTERN EUROPE | |
| Andorra | Morabanc |
| Austria | Erste Bank |
| Belgium | ING |
| France | BNP Paribas |
| Germany | Commerzbank |
| Greece | Piraeus Bank |
| Ireland | Bank of Ireland |
| Italy | Intesa Sanpaolo |
| Luxembourg | Banque et Caisse d’Épargne de l’État |
| Malta | Bank of Valletta |
| Netherlands | ING |
| Portugal | Banco Santander Totta |
| Spain | Santander |
| Switzerland | UBS |
| UK | Lloyds Banking Group |
| NORDIC REGION | |
| Denmark | Nordea |
| Finland | Nordea |
| Iceland | Landsbankinn |
| Norway | DnB |
| Sweden | SEB |
| ASIA-PACIFIC AND MIDDLE EAST | |
| Australia | ANZ Group |
| Hong Kong | HSBC |
| Israel | Bank Hapoalim |
| Japan | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial |
| New Zealand | ANZ New Zealand |
| Singapore | DBS Bank |
| COUNTRY WINNERS – EMERGING MARKETS | |
| CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE | |
| Albania | Intesa Sanpaolo |
| Belarus | Priorbank |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | Raiffeisen Bank dd Bosnia i Hercegovina |
| Bulgaria | UniCredit Bulbank |
| Croatia | Privredna banka Zagreb |
| Czech Republic | ČSOB |
| Estonia | Nordea Bank Estonia |
| Hungary | OTP Bank |
| Kosovo | Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo |
| Latvia | Nordea Bank Latvia |
| Lithuania | SEB |
| Macedonia | Komercijalna banka AD Skopje |
| Moldova | Moldindconbank |
| Poland | Alior Bank |
| Romania | Banca Transilvania |
| Russia | Sberbank |
| Serbia | Raiffeisen Bank Serbia |
| Slovakia | VÚB banka |
| Slovenia | SKB Banka |
| Turkey | Akbank |
| Ukraine | PrivatBank |
| LATIN AMERICA | |
| Argentina | Banco Macro |
| Barbados | Scotiabank Barbados |
| Belize | Belize Bank |
| Bolivia | Banco de Crédito de Bolivia |
| Brazil | Itaú Unibanco |
| Chile | Banco de Chile |
| Colombia | Bancolombia |
| Costa Rica | Banco de Costa Rica |
| Dominican Republic | Citi |
| Ecuador | Banco Pichincha |
| El Salvador | Banco Agrícola |
| Guatemala | Banco Industrial |
| Honduras | Banco Atlántida |
| Jamaica | Scotiabank Jamaica |
| Mexico | BBVA Bancomer |
| Nicaragua | Banco Lafise Bancentro |
| Panama | Banco General |
| Paraguay | Banco Itaú Paraguay |
| Peru | BBVA Continental |
| Puerto Rico | Banco Santander Puerto Rico |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago |
| Turks & Caicos | Scotiabank Turks & Caicos |
| Uruguay | BBVA Uruguay |
| US Virgin Islands | Scotiabank USVI |
| Venezuela | BBVA Banco Provincial |
| ASIA-PACIFIC | |
| Afghanistan | Afghanistan International Bank |
| Armenia | Ameriabank |
| Azerbaijan | International Bank of Azerbaijan |
| Bangladesh | United Commercial Bank |
| Brunei Darussalam | Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam |
| Cambodia | Acleda Bank |
| China | China Merchants Bank |
| Georgia | TBC Bank |
| India | HDFC Bank |
| Indonesia | Bank Central Asia |
| Kazakhstan | Halyk Bank |
| Kyrgyzstan | Demir Kyrgyz International Bank |
| Macau | ICBC Macau |
| Malaysia | Public Bank (Malaysia) |
| Mongolia | XacBank |
| Myanmar | Co-operative Bank |
| Nepal | Standard Chartered Bank Nepal |
| Pakistan | United Bank Limited |
| Philippines | BDO Unibank |
| South Korea | Shinhan Bank |
| Sri Lanka | Commercial Bank of Ceylon |
| Taiwan | CTBC Bank |
| Thailand | Siam Commercial Bank |
| Uzbekistan | Asia Alliance Bank |
| Vietnam | Sacombank |
| MIDDLE EAST | |
| Bahrain | Ahli United Bank |
| Egypt | Commercial International Bank |
| Iran | Bank Melli Iran |
| Iraq | Bank of Baghdad |
| Jordan | Arab Bank |
| Kuwait | National Bank of Kuwait |
| Lebanon | BLOM Bank |
| Oman | Ahli Bank |
| Palestine | Bank of Palestine |
| Qatar | Qatar National Bank |
| Saudi Arabia | Samba Financial Group |
| United Arab Emirates | National Bank of Abu Dhabi |
| Yemen | Arab Bank Yemen |
| AFRICA | |
| Algeria | Arab Banking Corp Algeria |
| Angola | Standard Bank Angola |
| Botswana | Barclays Bank of Botswana |
| Burkina Faso | United Bank for Africa (Burkina Faso) |
| Cameroon | United Bank for Africa (Cameroon) |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Standard Chartered Bank Côte d’Ivoire |
| DR Congo | Trust Merchant Bank |
| Djibouti | International Commercial Bank (Djibouti) |
| Ethiopia | Commercial Bank of Ethiopia |
| Gambia | Standard Chartered Bank Gambia |
| Ghana | Ghana Commercial Bank |
| Guinea | Ecobank Guinea Conakry |
| Kenya | Barclays Bank of Kenya |
| Madagascar | Bank of Africa-Madagascar |
| Mali | Ecobank Mali |
| Mauritius | Bramer Bank |
| Morocco | Attijariwafa Bank |
| Mozambique | Millennium bim |
| Namibia | FNB Namibia |
| Nigeria | First Bank of Nigeria |
| Rwanda | I&M Bank (Rwanda) |
| Senegal | United Bank for Africa (Senegal) |
| Sierra Leone | Standard Chartered Bank Sierra Leone |
| South Africa | Standard Bank |
| South Sudan | Ivory Bank |
| Sudan | Faisal Islamic Bank |
| Togo | Ecobank Togo |
| Tunisia | Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie |
| Uganda | Stanbic Bank Uganda |
| Zambia | Standard Chartered Bank Zambia |
| Zimbabwe | Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe |
