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  • Dubai’s real estate boom finally came to a shuddering halt. In the first three months of this year, for example, residential real estate prices fell an average 41%, according to property consultants Colliers. Many of its leading companies face refinancing difficulties, while it remains to be seen what impact the property market crash will have on its banks.
  • Even the very best banks in the Middle East have felt the force of the financial crisis. At the end of the first quarter of this year Arab Bank announced that it had posted pre-tax profits of $216 million, down from $272 million for the same period a year earlier. Partly the difference is explained by a one-off boost to profits last year through the sale of branches in Cyprus. Still, as Arab Bank’s chairman and chief executive, Abdel Hamid Shoman, admits: "Anybody that says that they won’t be affected by the crisis is not telling the truth." Arab Bank, though, has fared much better than many other financial institutions. Even with the fall in profits, the bank has improved its capital base and liquidity position.
  • Competition between Lebanon’s two biggest banks, Banque Audi and Blom Bank, remains as intense as ever. This year, the decision between them was particularly hard, especially when the third-biggest bank, Byblos, is so intent on catching up. Byblos beat Blom and Audi to underwrite (along with Credit Libanais) a voluntary debt exchange for the Lebanese government worth $2.3 billion.
  • Saudi Arabia is home to Al Rajhi, the Middle East’s biggest bank by market value.
  • Bank Mandiri is one of several institutions across Asia to have benefited this year from concentrating on the basics of banking. Indonesia’s largest bank also deserves to be named its best for a steady approach that saw its net NPL ratio shrink from 1.51% to 1.09% in financial year 2009, while net interest margin rose 8.3% to 5.45% so that earnings after tax were up an impressive 22.3% at Rp5,313 billion ($523 million). The state-owned bank has focused on cleaning up its balance sheet and building a strong deposit base over the past few years, so that savings now contribute over 30% of the firm’s balance sheet as opposed to just over 10% in 2001. Last year’s citation for this award alluded to the politicking that prevented Mandiri’s chief executive, Agus Martowardojo, from taking over the central bank; rumours persist that he is still after a cabinet role but for now he is doing a fine job heading Bank Mandiri.
  • Ghana attracted the attention of the global capital markets when it issued a $750 million international bond in 2007. Investors are now worried about a growing fiscal and trade deficit, and that the government is betting too much on oil revenues from new fields expected to come on stream in 2010.
  • BARCLAYS CAPITAL: Developing e-commerce is now paying dividends, especially in product distribution
  • Siam Commercial Bank retains the award for best bank in Thailand after another strong year of growth that saw it post a net profit for 2008 of Bt21.4 billion ($626.2 million), a record for the bank and the best among its peers. Return on assets and return on equity both grew year on year, to 1.8% and 18% respectively, and the bank now has the highest market capitalization among Thai commercial banks. Although some analysts suggest that the bank could be doing more to grow its loan base, with its performance in that field among the middle of the pack in the first quarter of 2009, they praise the bank for its strong retail presence and reduction of its ratio of non-performing loans.
  • Last year the rand was one of the world’s worst-performing currencies. This year, it has been one of the best. The extreme volatility of commodity prices over the past 12 months has been partly to blame.
  • JPMORGAN: The US bank is one of the winners in the financial crisis and nowhere more so than in the emerging markets
  • BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON: BoNY Mellon has outshone it competitors this year. As clients reward the well-capitalized bank it has become a clear winner in mandates won and assets gained
  • In recognition of the turmoil the country was in, Euromoney did not give an award for best bank in Sri Lanka last year. Although the economic backdrop arguably worsened and the political situation only stabilized towards the end of this year’s review period, the country’s leading banks were able to post solid results and Hatton National Bank (HNB) led the way. The firm recorded a post-tax profit of SLR3.22 billion ($28 million), up 6.5% on the previous year, with interest income the main reason for the 23.9% increase in total income to SLR37.17 billion.