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The Ukranian economy has been coping well under the pressures of domestic political uncertainty and global financial turmoil. In 2007, GDP grew by 7.3%, while retail sales increased by 28.8%. And Ukrsibbank has continued along its own growth curve. Majority owned by BNP Paribas since April 2006, the bank is the third largest in the Ukraine in terms of assets, shareholders equity and loan portfolio. Although PrivatBank and Raiffeisen Bank Aval are bigger, they cannot match Ukrsibbank’s dynamism.

Based on Bank Pekao’s 2007 results, parent UniCredit has succeeded in turning it into the leading bank in Poland by total assets, client savings and equity. It was also the second-biggest lender. Despite the distraction of a merger with part of Bank BPH, Bank Pekao reported strong financial figures for 2007, proving it is both big and clever. Net income rose by 20.9% compared with 2006, while return on equity was a creditable 23.7%. The bank also cut its cost-income ratio to 47.1%. Despite market pressure on the mutual funds industry in the fourth quarter of 2007, Bank Pekao still managed to boost its net fee and commission income by 12.7% year on year.

Russia is one of the most fiercely competitive banking markets in the central and eastern European region thanks to the continued strength of the domestic economy. State-owned banks such as Sberbank and VTB performed well over the past year as did foreign banks such as Raiffeisen and UniCredit. But Alfa Bank retains its best bank crown as a result of having the best-balanced universal banking franchise. Alfa is a force to be reckoned with right across the retail, corporate and investment banking spectrum, which means it is well placed to take full advantage of the buoyant economic conditions in Russia.

In combating inflation the credit squeeze may suffice in the medium-term, but, while waiting for its impact, central banks want to hold the fort with one or two rate increases.

Nova Ljubljanska Banka remains streets ahead of the competition, with the bank maintaining its number one position thanks to a 30%-plus market share in terms of total banking assets, loans and deposits in Slovenia.

In a year when the virtues of retail and corporate banking have come to the fore, Ceska Sporitelna secures the best bank title again in the Czech Republic. With support from its parent, Erste Bank, it has transformed itself into a banking powerhouse. Through 640 branches Ceska Sporitelna serves more than 5.3 million customers. In the past year it put in another strong performance with net interest income growing from Kc18.37 billion in 2006 to reach Kc21.2 billion ($1.37 billion), while operating profit rose to Kc18.37 billion in 2007 from Kc15.15 billion in 2006. As a result the bank’s return on equity edged up from 23% to 23.8% and the cost-income ratio improved from 53% in 2006 to 50% in 2007.

Raiffeisen Bank maintains its position at the top of the banking pile in Bosnia & Herzegovina. It is able to serve all sections of the community throughout both the Srpska Republika and the Croat-Muslim Federation and is the largest individual bank in the entire country. In 2007, it increased its corporate customer base by 13%, and retail clients rose by 17%. These increases allowed Raiffeisen to grow its assets by 18.8% in 2007, thanks to strong loan growth, especially in the corporate sector, where it increased by 43%, far above the market average. Thanks to its 99 branches the bank also performed strongly on the retail side, accounting for 21.43% of lending, while it maintained its number one position in the card issuance business on the back of the expansion of its ATM and point-of-sales network.

Despite increasing competition, Raiffeisen banka maintains its top billing in Serbia. On the retail front it boosted its customer base by 20% in 2007 to just short of 500,000, while growing its retail deposit and loan volumes by 32% and 26% respectively. There was a similarly strong performance in the corporate banking segment, with corporate lending rising by 24% to reach almost $1.2 billion, while deposits rose to $830 million. Raiffeisen banka was particularly successful in boosting its business with small and micro-sized enterprises, increasing its client base by 36% and its lending by 47% to reach $312 million. The bank also has a leading market position in the treasury business, accounting for a 19% share of foreign exchange trading for retail customers and 13.68% for banking clients. As a result of all these advances in 2007, the bank boosted its net profit by 60% and its return on equity climbed to 21.4% from 16.6% in 2006.

Despite difficult economic conditions in 2007, Moldova-Agroindbank still managed to boost its net profit by a healthy 30% margin to MLei235.5 million ($23.6 million). The bank remains the country’s largest by assets, with a 21% market share and plays a key role in the economy, providing roughly 23% of all loans and accounting for 22% of total deposits. The bank continues to attract new investors, with Slovenian textile manufacturer Tkanina joining fellow Slovene outfits Factor Banka and asset managers Poteza, Activa Invest and Druga Penzija as shareholders.

BRD remains the bank to watch in Romania, having reported the highest net profit of any Romanian bank in 2007. Net profit rose by 43% to €279 million-equivalent. Despite sizeable investments in technology, network expansion and staff recruitment and training, which helped it to attract 300,000 new customers in 2007, BRD still maintained its position as the most profitable bank in Romania, with a return on equity of 35.4%. On the retail side, the bank boosted lending by 45% as well as launching a new life insurance arm, BRD Fond de Pensii. In corporate banking, the bank provides a comprehensive range of products and services spanning small businesses through to multinational corporations. With regard to investment banking, BRD has continued to build its corporate finance, brokerage and asset management operations, which should ensure that fee income helps mitigate any slowdown in interest income resulting from a drop.

Political relations between Greece and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are strained but the strong financial and management support from owner National Bank of Greece has helped to ensure that Stopanska Banka Skopje remains the leading force in FYROM’s banking sector. In 2007, the bank posted a 24% return on equity on the back of gross profit of €19.6 million equivalent, according to International Accounting Standards. The bank’s total assets rose to €897.2 million at year-end 2007, up 31% on 2006. Total deposits reached €707.1 million, up 31.2% on 2006. At the end of 2007, about a million Macedonian citizens had accounts with Stopanska Banka Skopje, more than half of the country’s population.

After winning this award in 2006 and 2007, Bank of Georgia continues to affirm its position as Georgia’s leading financial institution with yet another year of stellar performance. Deposits grew 142.2% to $851.6 million, and outstanding mortgages rose 103.5% to 4,230, an increase in the value of those mortgages of 187.2%, to nearly $150 million. In the retail division, revenue per employee rose by a half.