The banks in each market that have excelled across a range of core private banking activities during the past 12 months.

Seven years ago, Barclays’ then chief executive Jes Staley decided to gradually sell down its Johannesburg-listed African unit, including retail banks across the continent. But when Credit Suisse announced a strategic refresh in 2021 – including selling its ultra-high net-worth private client book in nine African markets – Barclays saw it as a chance to gain bulk in African private banking once again.

FNB has put succession planning at the heart of its private wealth proposition, taking the view that all clients should have access to the service, regardless of income or balance-sheet value. It considers the needs not only of the existing client but also the aspirations of the next generation.

This year’s winner for best bank for high net-worth (HNW) individuals in Africa, Standard Bank Wealth and Investment, is rewarded for delivering clever tailored solutions to its growing clientele across key African markets.

FNB wins the award for Africa's best private bank for ultra-high net-worth this year. The pan-African lender’s distinctive offering for the super wealthy demonstrates its ability to serve these clients.

Next-gen clients can be just as diverse as any other private-banking clients, with similar ranges of age, investment goals and overall desire to be involved in the family wealth.

As part of one of South Africa’s biggest banking groups, FNB’s private wealth offering provides clients with advice across local and offshore portfolios to help them leverage their assets at every stage of their life.

Last year was marked by innovation and implementation for 2024’s winner of the award for Africa's best bank for philanthropic advisory: FNB.

Bankers in the Middle East are intensifying their focus on succession planning as the first wave of intergenerational wealth transfer looms.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai sell themselves as international hubs for tech companies, with new initiatives to support start-ups and scale-ups, but rules around eligibility for equity listings will hinder the Emirates’ tech sectors if they aren’t changed.

Uneven progress towards financial market reform across the continent continues to pose a challenge for ambitious African corporates.

Corporate and development banks want their capital to reach the smallest and most impactful of SMEs in frontier markets. Traditional credit ratings and risk assessments can get in the way.

A securitization of pay-as-you-go electricity bills to fund wider access to electricity in Côte d’Ivoire could spark copycat social bonds for affordable housing, telecoms, electricity access and more.

Barclays hopes to win over investors with new return targets and buyback commitments next February, but it really needs a revival in investment banking.

Regulators are starting to take a more messaging-based approach to sustainable finance, but stopping greenwashing won’t automatically lead to a transition to net zero.

The 28th Conference of the Parties starts in Dubai tomorrow. Dubbed the finance COP, conflicting priorities could turn it into a fossil fuel investor roadshow.

First Bank of Nigeria is the country's third-largest bank, accounting for 10.4% of banking system assets at the end of 2022. Despite tackling a sizeable legacy book of impaired lending, it has built a decent corporate banking business that, by the end of 2022, had an annual turnover of more than N5 billion ($6.4 million).

While many African countries experienced lower interbank FX turnover and saw their foreign-exchange reserves dwindle last year, there are grounds for optimism that 2023 will turn out to be a better year at both regional and national level.

Kenyan authorities have cleared Flutterwave of wrongdoing following an anti-money-laundering case in the East African nation. Nevertheless, industry confidence in the Africa-focused payments company remains mixed.

The local sector is in good shape to weather a short-term conflict. If the war drags on and spreads throughout the region, however, the position is far less clear.

Data hoarding, ESG illiteracy and credit risk are roadblocks for regional banks looking to establish sustainable supply-chain financing programmes in the Gulf, just as COP28 approaches.

Turkey’s central bank took another step on the path to normalization when penalties for exceeding interest-rate caps on lending were scrapped last week. It is good news for banks, but will it last?

In a period marked by rapid technological evolution across its entire business, Bank ABC has made several digital enhancements to its corporate product offering. The bank has been named best corporate bank in Bahrain this year in recognition of these transformative efforts, alongside its involvement in a number of important regional transactions.

The risk of a new war with Israel will derail any fledgling economic recovery for Lebanon as it attempts to convince private-sector investors of its gas and renewable energy potential.  

Bidding $2.5 billion for the bulk of Credit Suisse’s sub-Saharan Africa ultra-high net-worth private bank book 18 months ago has been a ‘game changer’ for Barclays in the region, the UK bank’s Africa market head Amol Prabhu tells Euromoney.

Ahead of COP28, the sector needs to focus on lending for energy efficiency in the emerging markets before climate tech startups in developed markets, if decarbonization is the goal.

Digital sukuk issuance still faces the issue of uneven Shariah interpretation.

The relaxation of visa rules has turbocharged the recent flow of wealth into Dubai. The nature of these flows can, however, make them a mixed opportunity for the UAE’s private bankers.

SBM Bank has undertaken several structural and strategic initiatives to enhance its offering for small and medium-sized enterprises over the last year and is Mauritius’s best bank for SMEs as a result.

Zenith Bank wins best bank for digital solutions in Nigeria following a period of robust growth across its digital channels.