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Bahamas I Bardados I Bermuda I Dominician Republic I Jamaica I Trinidad & Tobago I Costa Rica I El Salvador I Guatemala I Honduras I Nicaragua I Panama I Argentina I Bolivia I Brazil I Chile I Colombia I Ecuador I Mexico I Paraguay I Peru I Uruguay I Venezuela

Austria I Belguim I France I Germany I Greece I Ireland I Italy I Luxembourg I Netherlands I Portugal I Spain I Switzerland I United Kingdom Fortis Banque Luxembourg continues to show impressive growth. The bank’s drive to attract more deposits has been successful, most conspicuously in bancassurance products and investment funds, where growth has been in double digits. The bank has also impressively grown its consumer loan and leasing business, which last year increased by a remarkable 67.3%.

Albania I Belarus I Bosnia & Herezegovina I Bulgaria I Croatia I Czech Republic I Georgia I Hungary I Poland I Romania I Russia I Serbia I Slovakia I Slovenia I Turkey I Ukraine Some of Raiffeisen International’s first-mover bets have yet to fully pay off. It bought Priorbank in Belarus in 2003 but has not been able to grow particularly dynamically in the heavily state-controlled sector. Still, it has been doing well enough under difficult conditions. It has more than 50% of the credit card market, and net income was €32 million last year, up 22% from the previous year. It will be well placed if the Belarus economy is forced to liberalize, as it surely will be now that Belarus will have to pay higher prices for Russian gas.

Albania I Belarus I Bosnia & Herezegovina I Bulgaria I Croatia I Czech Republic I Georgia I Hungary I Poland I Romania I Russia I Serbia I Slovakia I Slovenia I Turkey I Ukraine As in previous years, it has been a close-run decision between Zagrebacka banka, UniCredit’s subsidiary, and Privedna Banka Zagreb, Intesa’s subsidiary for Euromoney’s best bank award. This year the award goes to Privedna for outstripping Zagrebacka in total asset growth (16.5% year on year compared with 10.3%), and a slightly better cost income ratio.

Denmark I Estonia I Finland I Iceland I Latvia I Lithuania I Norway I Sweden One banker says that the performance of Glitnir’s CDS this year relative to its local competitors – Kaupthing and Landsbanki – was a good barometer of the strength of its franchise as well as its management during the crisis that hit the Icelandic banking system in the first quarter of 2006. That performance also reflected the widespread belief that the bank previously known as Islandsbanki has a business model that is more conducive to sustainable profitability than its peers. And with net profits tripling in the first quarter of 2006 and return on equity reaching 42%, that perception appears to be warranted. Affirming the bank’s A– long-term rating at the end of March, Standard & Poor’s forecast that Glitnir would “maintain profitability at comfortable levels, even in a less favourable economic environment of higher loan losses and lower financial gains.” When S&P changed its outlook on Iceland from stable to negative at the start of June, the agency was quick to advise that the revision would have no impact on Glitnir’s rating.

Denmark I Estonia I Finland I Iceland I Latvia I Lithuania I Norway I Sweden Hansabank makes no secret of its ambitions of being the leading retail bank throughout the Baltic region, and the progress it has made in the past 12 to 18 months suggests that it is well on course in Latvia. Hansabank owes its award for best bank in Latvia to the explosive growth in its core business in the market in 2005. The bank’s Latvian loan portfolio increased by 79% to €2.44 billion, with its mortgage book expanding by 109% and its corporate loan business growing by 69%. And although margins came under pressure, Hansabank reports that the average yield of its Latvian loan portfolio is its highest in the Baltic region. The net result was that while expenses inevitably rose last year (by 21%), Hansabank’s cost-income ratio remained stable and its net profits rose by 21% to €57.5 million.

Albania I Belarus I Bosnia & Herezegovina I Bulgaria I Croatia I Czech Republic I Georgia I Hungary I Poland I Romania I Russia I Serbia I Slovakia I Slovenia I Turkey I Ukraine Raiffeisen was the first foreign bank to enter the Albanian banking sector when it bought the former Banka e Kursimeve in April 2004. Raiffeisen Bank Albania is the biggest bank in the country, with 44% of all deposits. It is also profitable – net income was up 52% last year and return on equity was 45%.

Albania I Belarus I Bosnia & Herezegovina I Bulgaria I Croatia I Czech Republic I Georgia I Hungary I Poland I Romania I Russia I Serbia I Slovakia I Slovenia I Turkey I Ukraine HVB Bank Biochim is this year’s best bank in Bulgaria. Following its acquisition of Hebros Bank in 2005, combined with strong organic growth, it has cemented its position as the number one bank in corporate loans in Bulgaria, and is in the top three for assets, retail loans and overall loans.

Albania I Belarus I Bosnia & Herezegovina I Bulgaria I Croatia I Czech Republic I Georgia I Hungary I Poland I Romania I Russia I Serbia I Slovakia I Slovenia I Turkey I Ukraine Bank of Georgia is the stand-out leader in the Georgian banking sector. It has attracted the cream of eastern European investors into its assets, such as East Capital and Firebird Management, and its shares have performed very well on the Tbilisi Stock Exchange. It is now preparing for a listing, probably on AIM in London.

Bahamas I Bardados I Bermuda I Dominician Republic I Jamaica I Trinidad & Tobago I Costa Rica I El Salvador I Guatemala I Honduras I Nicaragua I Panama I Argentina I Bolivia I Brazil I Chile I Columbia I Ecuador I Mexico I Paraguay I Peru I Uruguay I Venezuela Political risk is high in Venezuela and is likely to increase as the economy becomes more regulated. Compulsory lending requirements on banks and capital controls have made operating extremely difficult and have left privately owned banks vulnerable to a deterioration in their balance sheets. But that has not discouraged Banco Mercantil, Venezuela’s largest bank, which has a 16% market share and subsidiaries in the US and Europe. Helped by growing government banking business, a strong economy boosted by high oil prices and the sale of its stake in Colombia’s Bancolombia, Banco Mercantil posted earnings of $340 million last year, nearly double that of 2004, while its assets rose 27% to $11 billion and deposits jumped 41%.

Austria I Belguim I France I Germany I Greece I Ireland I Italy I Luxembourg I Netherlands I Portugal I Spain I Switzerland I United Kingdom Although some of Credit Suisse’s most high profile strategic readjustments, such as the rebranding of its businesses under the one Credit Suisse name, appear to be a direct copy of local nemesis UBS’s recent strategies, the results, if not their originality, have been impressive.

Austria I Belguim I France I Germany I Greece I Ireland I Italy I Luxembourg I Netherlands I Portugal I Spain I Switzerland I United Kingdom Royal Bank of Scotland is Euromoney’s choice for best bank in the UK because, unlike many of its peers, both its retail and wholesale businesses are strong and making progress.