The Central Bank of Yemen has avoided taking sides in the civil war – until September, when the president replaced the governor and moved the bank, infuriating political opponents and setting off alarm bells for some observers.

Despite a substantial fall in trading volumes in Bahrain during the past three years and the ability of Saudi Arabia to defend its currency peg, increased electronic trading volumes suggest the Middle East FX market has scope for further development.

When microfinance banks in Africa speak of the rise of new technology, they usually focus on its potential and, perhaps disingenuously, play down the risks. They say the spread of mobile phones and internet access enables small loans to reach Africa’s rural poor more efficiently than ever before. But while international microfinancier Finca is aware of these opportunities, it knows from painful experience in Uganda that new technology opens up new vulnerabilities too.

Shaken by war on its border, a political crisis that has left it without an elected president for two years, and a collapse in the price of oil, Lebanon’s economy is facing challenges unseen since the country’s own civil war.

When Mozambique struck gas in 2010, it was supposed to herald a bright, lucrative future for the poor African state. It hasn’t turned out that way. Rising debt, sluggish growth and a corrosive financial crisis have culminated in the IMF freezing payments to the struggling state. Its banking industry is one of the few brighter spots.

NBAD’s merger with FGB gives Abu Dhabi a bank with a similar market cap to firms such as DBS and Standard Chartered. At the same time, the emirate is merging two of the Gulf’s most powerful state investment companies, Ipic and Mubadala. Amid low oil prices, Gulf states are finding new strategies for national champions.

The southern African country’s reliance on copper and recent disorderly elections have seen increased instability in the region, potentially adding to the deterioration in its ECR scores.

There is no need to panic, but the government’s new budget strategy puts the fiscal consolidation plans out of kilter and is signalling there might be trouble ahead.

Central bank’s first post-2008 intervention; Claims Nigeria’s banks remain healthy.

Two years into what he says will be the last job of his career, ABK’s chief executive Michel Accad has already taken the bank from a domestic to a regional player and begun much-needed modernization.

The Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act (HIFPA), a US law aimed at blocking Hezbollah’s access to the financial sector, has caused weeks of commotion in Lebanon, where the central bank’s decision to implement the rules has led to tension between the country’s banks and the Lebanese Shi’ite group. For the first time since the law’s implementation in Lebanon, the instigator of HIFPA, US congressman Ed Royce, reacts to the situation in the country.

A US law to curb Hezbollah’s access to finance has caused weeks of turmoil in Lebanon, where the rules were quickly implemented, and even exceeded, by a financial sector eager to avoid US sanctions. The explosion of a bomb outside the Beirut headquarters of the country’s second-biggest bank, Blom Bank, this summer has been even interpreted as a warning signal to bankers to not apply US regulations too zealously.

Results index Few institutions have true scope in sales and trading in all important asset classes in Africa. One bank that does is Standard Bank, winner of our inaugural best bank for markets award.

Results index As the number of wealthy individuals in Africa increases, one bank is there to help them whether their needs are domestic, across the continent, or international – Standard Bank, this year’s best bank for wealth management. It operates in 20 countries within Africa; the private bank serves clients that earn more than R1 million a year, while its wealth management division services clients with potential investable assets of $1 million or more.

Results index Many banks in Africa donate part of their profits to charitable organisations. But few go beyond these pecuniary donations to dedicate their time and financial skills in support of the social good. Ecobank is one of the exceptions. The pan-African bank sets aside 1% of its profits after tax to supporting the initiatives of its social projects arm, the Ecobank Foundation, it also supports the fight against pandemics in Africa using skills and talents unique to banking. For those reasons, it wins best bank for corporate social responsibility.

Results index Last year’s winner of best equity house and best investment bank in Africa, Citi, this year returns to win our new award for financing. The bank, which has long had a strong presence in Africa, is one of the few able to offer a comprehensive range of products throughout most of the continent. Last year it certainly showed that it could deliver on that offering.

Results index Reaching small and medium-sized enterprises and supporting them with advice and financing from inception through every stage of their development is a key part of banking in Africa. Due to its long commitment to Kenyan SMEs and to its innovative way of supporting them, Equity Bank is the worthy winner of our best bank for SMEs in Africa award. Over the past year, the bank managed to greatly expand its offering, both geographically and numerically.

BBVA's diversification drive across new retail markets and its mobile banking push reveal a global emerging market institution to be reckoned with

Results index Chapel Hill Denham may be largely focused on Nigeria, but in that market it has shown the breadth and quality of its advisory offering. For that reason, the bank deserves to win this year’s African advisory award.

Results index This year’s winner of best bank in Africa is the first east African bank to be awarded that distinction, Kenya’s Equity Bank, led by James Mwangi. While present in relatively few markets compared with pan-African giants such as Ecobank, the institution has repeatedly demonstrated that it is a role model for how banking should be done on the continent.

Results index Nigeria’s economy has struggled over the past year. The country’s new president Muhammadu Buhari has had to deal with the financial impact of low oil prices, systemic corruption and the terrorist group Boko Haram. But one Nigerian bank, Access Bank, has continued its long-term transformation from small financial institution to big player, despite the odds, winning our best bank transformation award this year.

Angola

Equity Bank wins the award for Africa’s best bank award and is also named best bank for SMEs; Rand Merchant Bank claims best investment bank crown; new regional winners highlight growing breadth and depth in African finance.

It’s steady as she goes at Citi, as the universal bank maintains unrivalled cross-border market share and product complexity

Results index Africa’s home-grown banks are growing in strength across the whole continent, pushing back the previous dominance of the international institutions. Ecobank’s growth marks a success story of Africa’s growing need for transaction banking services and makes it a deserved winner of our award this year. In 2012 the bank took the decision to separate its transaction banking business and since then it has expanded in strength and reach.

Results index In a year of real hardship for its home country, during which South Africa’s finance minister declared the economy “in crisis”, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) nonetheless performed well and succeeded in dethroning Citi to claim the best investment bank in Africa award.

They might not like to admit it, but the decline in commodities prices could be just the impetus that the regions’ investment banks, and their capital markets, need.

A list of winners of Euromoney’s Africa Awards for Excellence 2016, as well as detailed citations for all of the winners, is available here

Results index The African banking sector has invested heavily in digital services to its clients and is among the most advanced in the world in that area. One bank stands out, however, having tripled its e-business income over the past year, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank).

Results index