Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) had another good year in 2023 and is again the best bank in the country for the review period.

The definition of excellence in these Euromoney awards is multifaceted. Sometimes the best bank is the one that has innovated and changed the market, sometimes the momentum in the market deserves recognition and at other times the player that dominates in terms of scale and profitability is the winner. It’s not often all three, but in Brazil, Nubank has revolutionized the retail banking market while enjoying unprecedented growth that has begun to feed – thanks to its highly efficient operating model – into operational leverage that is driving market-leading profitability.

In a difficult economic landscape, Eastern Bank has once again proven its mettle, delivering impressive growth and financial performance in 2023. The bank’s net profit surged by 19.6%, while its assets rose by 11.5%. This is particularly noteworthy considering the high base set in 2022. Return on equity improved to 16.3% from 15.5% in 2022.

With economic growth softening in Trinidad and Tobago – this year GDP is expected to come in at 2.2% compared to 2.5% in 2023 – Scotiabank continues to outperform other banks in the local market. Led by country manager Gayle Pazos, Scotiabank’s focus on digital transformation saw improvements in its platform relating to accessibility upgrades and security enhancements. The significant investment from the bank in this area over the past three years is helping to deliver efficiency and, in turn, stronger financial results.

If there was ever a time that demonstrated JPMorgan’s credentials as the country’s best bank, it was the crisis in March and April 2023 when US regional banks suddenly faced a balance sheet reckoning triggered by the rapid change in interest rates.

Panama had a solid 2023, with economic growth of 5%, but that belies the significant challenges that the country’s new president, José Raúl Mulino, will face. The closure of the country’s copper mine will add to the fiscal pressures that the increasing deficits from the country’s social pension system are creating. A drought has also affected the Panama Canal, a major revenue source for the government, and the economic outlook will likely get tougher from here.

Global IME Bank’s merger with the Bank of Kathmandu last year proved to be a game changer, catapulting the combined entity to the top of Nepal’s banking sector. This merger is considered an effective step in consolidating the country’s financial resources and in recognition of this, it receives the awards for Nepal’s best bank.

BDO Unibank, the Philippines’ largest bank, turned in an exceptional financial performance in 2023, cementing its position as the country’s best bank.

Slightly later than expected, early 2023 saw the legal completion of OTP’s takeover of Nova KBM, Slovenia’s second-biggest bank, first announced in mid 2021. OTP announced in mid April 2024 that it planned to merge Nova KBM with SKB banka – which it bought from Societe Generale in 2019 – in the second half of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals. OTP said the merged entity’s brand will be OTP banka and it will be the country’s biggest bank, overtaking national champion NLB.

Cross-border transactions involving multiple products that combine advisory, equity and debt financing are the bread and butter of a franchise like RBC Capital Markets. The firm’s performance in 2023 makes it a worthy winner of the award for Canada’s best investment bank.

Croatia’s entry into the euro in January 2023 was a landmark event for the country’s banking sector, which is dominated by banks from elsewhere in the European Union.

CTBC Bank has cemented its position in Taiwan’s best bank over the past year. Driven by its dual track digital innovation and environmental, social and governance (ESG) based transformation, the bank achieved a record net profit of NT$41.3 billion ($1.3 billion) in 2023, with a cost-to-income ratio of 55.16% and a return on equity of 11.9%, the highest among its peers. Revenue and pre-tax profit grew by 16% and 12%, respectively.

In recognition of multiple market-leading developments in its banking business and an impressive financial performance last year, maib is Moldova’s best bank.

Bank Mandiri, Indonesia’s largest bank by assets, achieved a record net profit of $3.6 billion in 2023, an impressive 34% year on year rise – the highest in the industry and significantly outpacing the other four tier-one banks. Led by president director Darmawan Junaidi, it retains the award for Indonesia’s best bank.

Access Bank made profit before tax of N569 billion ($380 million) in 2023, a big improvement on the previous year's N163 billion. This was in part due to the devaluation of the naira in 2023, but was also driven by the bank’s aggressive expansion strategy, which has seen its footprint in Africa expand and the establishment of its first branch in France.

After being knocked back by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kazakhstan’s economy rebounded last year, notching up over 5% growth on strong levels of consumer and public spending.

Stanbic Bank Uganda (SBU) turned in a strong performance over the review period. Net profit was USh421 billion ($110 million), up 18% from USh357 billion in 2022. Net loans increased to USh4 trillion, while deposits ended the year at USh6 trillion, both up 3% on 2022.

Belgium-based KBC’s Bulgarian unit formally merged with former Raiffeisen International Bank subsidiary United Bulgarian Bank (UBB) in 2023, creating the country’s biggest bank. KBC had completed the legal acquisition of RBI’s operations in Bulgaria in 2022. Most of the synergies of the merger were, therefore, far from being realised in 2023 as the operational integration was only just beginning.

Commerzbank has seen a remarkable bounce back in its profitability and share price over the past four years, something that was particularly apparent in 2023. The year began with its re-inclusion in the DAX in February, five years after it was ejected from the index of German blue-chip stocks. This was thanks to a dramatic recovery in its share price from the depths it hit during the early Covid-19 period.

It was a mixed year in Austrian banking in 2023. Higher eurozone interest rates bolstered banks’ net interest margins, but at the end of the year the bankruptcy of Austrian real estate group Signa shone the spotlight on what Moody’s said was €2.2 billion of lending by Austrian banks to Signa.

Giving state-owned lenders awards for commercial banking is typically something Euromoney is reluctant to do, especially in former Communist countries. But anyone who knows Ukraine knows that PrivatBank is not your average former Soviet state-owned bank.

For a small economy, Luxembourg boasts many banks: 120 were authorized in 2023. Many of these primarily serve international clients, in particular providing securities services to institutional investors from across Europe and beyond.

A strong financial performance together with a series of new initiatives, including in environmental, social and governance, make Standard Bank Euromoney’s best bank in South Africa this year.

After years of political upheaval and economic crisis, Sri Lanka showed signs of stabilization in the second half of 2023. Despite the challenging landscape, Hatton National Bank (HNB) achieved record growth in the review period and cemented its position as Sri Lanka’s best bank.

A spike in Armenian bank M&A this year has underscored the growth opportunity for banks in the local market. The country’s best bank, Ameriabank, was bought by Bank of Georgia earlier this year, and Ardshinbank is in the process of acquiring HSBC Armenia.

Baiduri Bank is again Brunei’s best bank, not just because of its impressive financial performance but also for its dedication to digital transformation.

NLB Banka is Montenegro’s best bank, having demonstrated strong growth and development last year, which in turn contributed to its record bottom line.

For Danske Bank, Denmark’s best bank, 2023 was a year of rehabilitation after a difficult period that culminated in the settlement in late 2022 of historic money laundering issues. With a strong financial performance that saw profits nearly double even after adjusting for the regulatory charges in 2022, the bank has come roaring back to life.

Khan Bank, Mongolia’s largest bank with a 30% market share, receives the award as the country’s best bank in recognition of its solid growth and the successful completion of its initial public offering.

Established in 1947 as Pakistan’s first commercial bank, HBL has consistently been at the forefront of the banking industry’s evolution. Last year, it solidified its position as a trailblazer, delivering impressive financial results while demonstrating its commitment to innovation. In recognition of this it receives the award for Pakistan’s best bank.

In a year marked by historic lending growth in China, state-owned banks have taken the lead, defying the traditional dominance of smaller banks in driving loan expansion. Among these state-owned giants, Bank of China (BoC) has emerged as a standout performer, securing its position as China’s best bank this year.

Despite 2023 not being a year for the record books in investment banking and capital markets, clients still required careful and thoughtful advice even when they were not doing landmark deals. For its consistency and all-round excellence, JPMorgan takes the US award for best investment bank.

For many US regional banks, the priority in the first part of 2023 was simply survival. But for the very best, ambitions went much further than that. For its excellent financial performance, the product of wise decisions made years ago and the continued execution of an impressive strategy, Fifth Third is the US's best super-regional bank.

By far the biggest bank by assets in the country and boasting nine million account holders, ING is also the best bank in the Netherlands this year.

Millennium bim, Euromoney’s best bank in Mozambique this year, has focused its efforts on technological improvements during the period under review.

Scotiabank is delivering on the promise of its 2018 acquisition of BBVA’s bank in Chile by consolidating its position as the third-largest private sector bank and is now closing in on second place. The bank closed 2023 with a 14% market share and, according to Fitch Ratings, the best risk rating in the industry. In Chile, Scotiabank enjoyed the highest income growth in the financial system. A combination of fierce cost control and increased digital penetration enabled the bank to generate a 41% efficiency ratio and significant savings. The other side of the balance sheet was also strong: revenues grew 10%. The bank’s operating income grew 9% and its return on equity rose to 12.3%.

Awash Bank greatly expanded its digital solutions last year, achieving high levels of engagement across mobile and internet banking.

Under the steady leadership of chief executive Kjerstin Braathen, Norway’s biggest bank continues to perform strongly and is far from relaxing its efforts just because of its size. DNB faces an surprising array of competition in such a small market, with more than 100 banks operating in the country, but its progress ensures it remains Norway’s best bank for another year.

Scotiabank has demonstrated remarkable consistency amid a very volatile economic period, reflecting the management team’s focus on initiatives to improve the productivity and efficiency of the bank.

MUFG, Japan’s largest bank, had an excellent financial year in the 12 months to March 2024, setting new records for the group.

Ecobank Guinea rolled out its Xpress Loan service in Guinea last year, which enables customers to obtain short-term micro credit loans using their mobile phones. The service was launched in partnership with Dubai fintech Optasia and pan-African telecommunications giant MTN.

For HSBC, 2023 was an important year at its UK ring-fenced bank. This delivered its strongest set of results since it was created in 2018, with revenue coming in 36% higher than in 2022. That was in part thanks to higher rates and fat net interest margins, but also to key strategic decisions, such as to make growing market share in mortgages a priority.

Despite the overbearing presence in Hungary of national champion OTP – and the emergence in 2023 of a much larger government-owned lender in the form of MBH Bank – international firms continue to compete in the domestic market. The biggest of these international players is K&H Bank, owned by Brussels-based group KBC.

Banca Intesa Beograd had standout year in 2023, launching a number of key initiatives and delivering another set of record results.

Kasikornbank (KBank) receives the award for Thailand’s best bank in in recognition of its commitment to enhancing asset quality in a challenging market and its dedication to sustainability initiatives.

The banking sector in DR Congo is undergoing transition. The central bank has proposed new ownership requirements for banks in the country, stipulating that they must have at least four unrelated shareholders. At the same time, large banks outside the country, such as Kenya’s KCB and Equity Bank, are eyeing the market as a potential growth opportunity – hardly surprising when less than a third of the DR Congolese population has a bank account.

Prime minister Donald Tusk’s defeat of the former ruling party PiS in elections last October brought hope for a less strained relationship between Poland and the EU. It also brought hope for more favourable policies towards banks, after the PiS government’s mortgage holidays and bank taxes.

The Ecuadorian economy slowed significantly in 2023 and was largely driven by public-sector spending. The impact of new president Daniel Noboa, who won the November 2023 election, has yet to be seen, but liquidity remains a persistent issue for the dollarized economy. Seeking scale seems to be the best defence against the country’s regular dollar shortages and in this environment the large banks thrive.

While Honduras has shifted its political allegiance to China – it ended diplomatic relations with Taiwan in an attempt to win investment from the Asian superpower – its real problems lie closer to home. The economy is stuck in a remittances trap, with annual payments from its diaspora back to the country worth almost 30% of GDP, which is the highest ratio in the region.

Under the leadership of president Khairussaleh Ramli, Maybank has exceeded the broader industry performance and achieved several milestones this year, for which it receives the award for Malaysia’s best bank. With total assets exceeding RM1 trillion ($212 billion) and a remarkable 17.5% rise in net profit to RM9.35 billion in 2023, the bank has grown while delivering record dividend payouts. Profit before tax was up 5.6% and return on equity rose to 10.8% from 9.6% in the previous year.

Despite the Latvian economy dipping into recession last year, the banking sector delivered impressive bottom-line growth, with total profits almost doubling year on year to €622 million.

Societe Generale Côte d’Ivoire is again named the best bank in the country after a year in which profit before tax was up 32% at CFEFr120 billion ($42 million) from CFEFr91 billion in 2022. The bank has shown strong commitment to the Ivory Coast despite exiting other African markets such as the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania and Chad. Indeed, Societe Generale deputy CEO of the group Pierre Palmieri visited Abidjan last year to reinforce this.

While Mexico is at the centre of the nearshoring debate, Costa Rica is quietly getting the job done. In 2023 the country attracted foreign direct investment inflows equal to 12% of its economy, which in turn drove economic growth above 5%. Costa Rica has long been an appealing place to develop service companies that sell into the US, including 170 shared service centres that perform back office and strategic operations for parent companies.

Banco Angolano de Investimentos (BAI) posted impressive financial results for 2023. Profit before tax stood at AKz220 billion ($250 million), almost double its 2022 result (AKz115 billion), and the bank achieved a return on equity of 36%, up from 26% the year before.

Peruvian banks had a difficult time in 2023, with zero GDP growth and a material contraction in domestic demand. However, inflation did begin to subside during the second half of the year, which led the central bank to reduce the reference interest rate for Peruvian soles by 100 basis points, ending the year at 6.25%. This reduction had a mixed impact for banks, lowering the average net interest margin but improving the country’s economic outlook.

Paraguay continues to prove that a raft of business-friendly economic policies can pay off in Latin America, with the small landlocked country enjoying GDP growth of 4.5%. Part of that bump was due to the recovery from the previous year’s drought, but economists are confident of another year of growth above 3% in 2024.

Things could not have gone much worse in 2023 for Islandsbanki, the bank that won this award in the past two years. A long-awaited regulatory report into the sale of part of the government’s holding in 2022 found that Islandsbanki itself had committed various violations during the process. Islandsbanki was fined Isk1.2 billion ($8.6 million), a record for Iceland.

Tourism is central to the economy of the Bahamas and the country continued to recover from the pandemic-enforced lockdowns with strong GDP growth of more than 4% in 2023. Scotiabank’s business in the country similarly continues to improve from the Covid years and, in 2023, the bank achieved its highest profitability for 15 years with net income of $70.3 million, up by almost 46% year on year. The bank’s management attributes this to a range of initiatives executed in previous years, such as the branch network optimization strategy and revenue enhancement strategies to progressively lower operating costs and boost revenues.

Despite a local economic slowdown, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s banking sector remained healthy in 2023 for growth, profits and asset quality. It is a market that UniCredit Bank Mostar and Raiffeisen Bank dominate in terms of market share, and this year UniCredit – led locally by chief executive Amina Mahmutović – retains the award for the country’s best bank.

Overall 2023 was a challenging year for Colombia’s economy and most of its large banks would have felt reasonably happy with their static performance. But BBVA managed to outperform the market in most banking segments. The firm ended last year as the leading foreign bank in the country and the fourth largest in the financial sector, with an 11.2% market share in terms of assets. However, it was the growth in the difficult conditions that sealed the award for Colombia’s best bank. BBVA grew total loans by 6.4% in the year and increased its market share by 50 basis points to 11.6%, led by an 8.5% increase in loans to individuals, which took market share of that segment to 14.9%, a 106bp rise.

First National Bank of Botswana delivered significant improvements in financial performance last year and made good progress in digital transformation, customer retention and social responsibility.

Despite the Estonian economy experiencing a severe recession last year, the country’s banking sector remained robust and continued to generate stellar growth, supported by the resilience of companies and households facing higher interest rates.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has solidified its standing as Australia’s best bank, driven not only by robust financial performance but also by its disciplined approach to margin management. Under the stewardship of chief executive Matt Comyn, the bank has strategically opted not to compete for less profitable mortgage customers to focus on delivering sustainable returns.

Attijariwafa Bank remains the bank to beat in Morocco. In a year that saw profits grow 20% to Dh13.8 billion ($1.4 billion), it has focused its efforts on promoting private investment in the country.

Afghanistan International Bank (AIB) has once again proven its resilience and adaptability in the midst of severe economic challenges, demonstrating its crucial role as a financial lifeline connecting the country with the world.

The 100th anniversary of Isbank, Turkey’s biggest private-sector lender, has come after some challenging years for the country's economy and financial sector.

In each of equity and debt capital markets, syndicated loans and M&A advisory, Truist Securities ranked higher than its super-regional peers in 2023, according to Dealogic. For its consistency and the progress it has made since the merger of SunTrust and BB&T that created the firm at the end of 2019, Truist wins the award for the US’s best super-regional investment bank this year.

The banking environment in Tunisia worsened last year due to the absence of a financing package to meet the government’s funding needs. This led to Moody's downgrading four banks in January 2023 because of the sovereign downgrade. The agency changed its outlook on the sector to stable in January 2024.

Market doubts, three years ago, about whether Andrea Orcel’s management of UniCredit would be sufficiently orientated to shareholder value have proven to be far from the mark. Orcel might have shied away from a deal with the Italian government to buy Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena in 2021, but this has not prevented UniCredit from remaining a large and growing part of the European banking story.

The Czech Republic has long been considered one of the most attractive banking markets in central and eastern Europe in terms of the risk-return dynamic. All the top five banks are foreign-owned, and the sector has been relatively consistent in terms of its earnings. The higher interest-rate environment, so far, has reinforced the sector’s good profitability, despite a new tax on bank profits, not least because asset quality has remained healthy.

In 2023, HSBC further solidified its position as Hong Kong’s best bank. Under the leadership of Luanne Lim, HSBC Hong Kong’s chief executive, the bank’s profit before tax soared to $10.7 billion, representing 80% year-on-year growth and contributing 35.3% to the group’s overall pre-tax profit.

NMB Bank is Euromoney’s best bank in Tanzania for 2024. Total assets grew by 19%, from $3.95 billion at the end of 2022 to $4.7 billion at the end of 2023. Net profit was also up 26% at $208.6 million. Both increases are the product of loan growth of 28% and a rise in the number of customer accounts – the bank opened 1.2 million new accounts in 2023 alone.

Prospects for the Azerbaijani banking sector continue to improve as bank balance sheets strengthen and tighter regulatory oversight is established. Nowhere is this more evident than at Bank ABB – International Bank of Azerbaijan – which has made good progress since the decisive resolution of its legacy risks in 2022.

Zambia National Commercial Bank (Zanaco) is again Euromoney’s best bank in Zambia. Profit before tax increased 44% year on year to KK1.74 billion ($65 million), including a 109% boost in the third quarter driven by income earned on government securities, trading and an uptick in net fees and commission.

In 2023, Korean banks faced a perfect storm, grappling with regulatory pressure to lower interest margins while facing intense profitability hurdles. In addition, the country’s largest banks found themselves embroiled in a scandal around the mis-selling of equity-linked securities that had resulted in substantial losses for consumers.

Even its rivals in Spain admit to feeling the impact last year as CaixaBank moved on from integrating Bankia to concentrating more exclusively on developing its business organically. This is evident, for example, in the savings market, where its customer funds increased by 3.1% in 2023. In insurance, a vital part of the group’s activities, there was also healthy growth, with a 7% volume growth in general and life risk premiums.

Romania was the place of perhaps the most important bank M&A deal to be announced in 2023: the merger of the local units of Italian group UniCredit and Greece’s Alpha Bank. The deal promised to allow UniCredit, as the owner of 90% of the merged entity, to supplant Societe Generale-owned BRD as the country’s third-biggest bank.

Ecobank Gabon delivered strong growth over the awards period while also expanding its product suite.

Equity Bank continued to grow its total assets in 2023, surpassing the KSh1 trillion ($7.7 billion) mark at the end of the year. The bank maintained a third of its consumer loans to salaried civil servants, teachers and private-sector employees at 13% interest, despite the central bank hiking rates much higher.

While one of the smaller banking markets in Latin America, Uruguay has some excellent banks that generate some exceptionally strong financial results. Part of that success is due to a consistently strong economic backdrop – and in 2023 significantly higher interest rates also helped. However, individual management teams can also take a large part of the credit and this year Banco Santander’s chief executive Gustavo Trelles repeats his success of last year by retaining the award for Uruguay’s best bank.

The awards period marked a triumphant return to performance for Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Ireland’s best bank. Putting behind it its involvement in the years-long industry-wide tracker mortgage scandal in Ireland, for which it was fined €100 million in 2022, the bank posted a very strong recovery in 2023, with record profits that nearly tripled versus the previous year. Revenues rose 62%, driven by net interest income that was up more than 80%.

Welcome to the optimistic part of the cycle for Argentina: international investment banks re-rate the outlook for the small cohort of large, listed banks and those banks start to look to consolidate. The last cycle saw equity issuance, but the banks had barely topped up the funds in their M&A war chests before the optimism faded away alongside their newly positive book values.

In 2023, ABA Bank, Cambodia’s largest commercial bank, achieved significant growth across all key metrics, solidifying its position as a leader in the country’s banking sector and winning it the award for the country’s best bank. Under the leadership of chief executive Askhat Azhikhanov, the bank’s net profit increased by 5% to $276.5 million in 2023, securing its status as the most profitable commercial bank in Cambodia for the third consecutive year.

When Scotiabank’s long-serving chief executive Brian Porter stepped down at the end of January 2023, after 10 years at the helm and more than 40 years at the bank, he left an institution that was in better shape than he found it, but one that still had much to do.

El Salvador’s economy is performing poorly considering that its president Nayib Bukele recently won a landslide presidential election. His popularity belies an economy that has been blighted by high inflation, rising poverty and low growth.

DemirBank is Kyrgyzstan’s best bank in recognition of an impressive performance last year.

As India’s second-largest private bank, ICICI Bank has once again demonstrated its ability to outperform its peers. While its formidable competitor, HDFC Bank, has a significant acquisition to digest, ICICI Bank has seized the opportunity to catch up in valuation and surpass market expectations, making it India’s best bank this year.

Banks in Ghana have faced a difficult couple of years thanks to the government of Ghana’s debt default and domestic debt exchange programme announced in November 2022.

Lithuanian banks successfully shrugged off a stagnating economy and the government’s windfall tax last year to double net profits.

Dominican Republic president Luis Abinader’s election win was good news for state-controlled bank Banreservas because it ensures stability in senior management, led by the bank’s president Samuel Pereyra, at a time when it is on something of a roll.