SEB, a regular winner of this award, certainly did not rest on its laurels in 2023, posting strong financial results and was able to boast a host of developments across its franchises. For its consistently dominant performance, it is once again Sweden’s best 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.

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

The Bolivian financial system has been facing dollar scarcity for more than a year now and the impact on the economy has been predictably negative, with Fitch recently downgrading the country to CCC from B-. It has been a long running crisis, with the strongest and best bank in the system Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz (BMSC), playing an important role in providing much-needed liquidity. One of the peaks of the liquidity crunch came in March 2023 and BMSC played a systemically important role by meeting dollar demand when it had evaporated from many other banks.

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.

CAC International demonstrated a robust financial performance last year, with assets growing by 8% to $536 million and profit before tax reaching $2.374 million, a 38% increase year on year.

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.

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.

Under the leadership of chief executive Karl Stumke, Bank of Maldives, the country’s best bank, has delivered on its strategic priorities in 2023, resulting in a strong financial performance and substantial customer acquisition.

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.

The recent move by Greek lender Eurobank to establish a majority stake in Hellenic Bank, Cyprus’ second largest bank, is a potentially transformational deal for the island’s banking sector. During the awards review period, however, it was still unclear when or if Eurobank would be able to merge its existing Cypriot business with Hellenic, but if it does, it could become the largest bank in the country.

The fourth-biggest bank in Portugal, which has been fully owned by Spain’s CaixaBank since the end of 2018, saw an exceptional performance in 2023. After record results for the firm across the board, Banco BPI is clear winner of the award for Portugal’s best bank.

Bank of Kigali is again Euromoney’s best bank in Rwanda this year.

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.

The Belgian government’s retail bond programme last year, which pressured lenders to raise deposits, was just one element of a relatively tough environment for banks in Belgium. The country also sits at the opposite end of the spectrum to southern Europe in terms of the proportion of loans on floating-rate deals, meaning local banks benefit less from higher eurozone interest rates.

Raiffeisen Bank is Albania’s best bank this year in recognition of its retail, corporate and treasury banking services, and its strong financial performance during the year. This was demonstrated across product and service enhancements in its main three banking businesses.

The Guatemalan economy had a turbulent time in 2023. The election of Bernardo Arevalo in early 2024 should improve relations with the US and potentially lift the country’s economic outlook, but the social challenges that have plagued Guatemala through times of economic expansion and contraction alike are resistant to superficial measures.

Benefiting from robust economic growth in the country, Uzbekistan’s banking sector continued its rapid expansion last year and one bank led the pack, SQB, the country’s second largest lender.

Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo is the country’s best bank after a year in which it introduced of a series of new and enhanced products across its banking businesses, materially grew its client base and generated a record net profit.

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.

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.

While political protests in Tbilisi introduced some additional risk to the Georgian economy last year, economic growth remained robust thanks to strong domestic demand and capital inflows from tourism and exports.

Some analysts were quick to call it the deal of the century. The first takeover of a global systemically important bank that repeated management errors and regulatory failure had brought to the brink of collapse was a rescue by its domestic rival. It was a humiliation for Switzerland that, with customers pulling their money in vast quantities over several months, Credit Suisse was left to carry on to the very brink of insolvency.

Access Bank Gambia impressed this year with its strong financial results, effective support for small and medium-sized enterprises and important philanthropic work.

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

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.

The Palestinian economy was already slowing ahead of the October 7 attacks, but the situation has deteriorated sharply since then. Growth had fallen by 3% year on year across the territories in the first half of the year and by 4.4% in Gaza itself.

For Israel’s banks, 2023 was a story of two distinct parts: the months prior to the Hamas attacks on October 7; and those after.

Arab Bank, under the leadership of chief executive Randa Sadik, had another good year in Jordan despite acute geopolitical risks, surging inflation and unprecedented increases in interest rates.

Sohar International Bank is Euromoney’s best bank in Oman this year. The landmark merger with HSBC Bank Oman in 2023 has resulted in substantial growth in assets, market share, market presence and workforce.