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Australia I China I Hong Kong I India I Indonesia I Japan I Malaysia I Mongolia I Pakistan I Philippines I Singapore I Taiwan I Thailand Taishin International Bank wins the award for best bank in Taiwan. Although one of Taiwan’s smaller banking organizations, ranking 17th largest by assets, Taishin is one of the island’s best-run banks, demonstrated by its superior financial ratios. Net interest margin in the latest financial year was 5%, the return on assets 1.5% and return on equity 17%, all of which rank among the very best for Taiwanese banks.

Australia I China I Hong Kong I India I Indonesia I Japan I Malaysia I Mongolia I Pakistan I Philippines I Singapore I Taiwan I Thailand HSBC wins the best bank in Hong Kong award again and it is hard to see the bank ever relinquishing the title, given its complete dominance of the market. It is the largest bank in Hong Kong by far, with the largest branch network and a product range to cover every kind of customer, from retail, consumer to commercial and corporate. The bank reported pretax profit for 2005 of $5.8 billion, a return on average assets of 1.44%, a cost-income ratio of 41.2%, a return on equity of 37% and a capital adequacy ratio of 12.4%.

Can Bouton’s unique vision drive SG forward?

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 The past year has been a period of immense change in the Ukrainian banking sector, with western European houses turning their attention to the country in their hunger for new assets. This year’s best bank award winner, Aval Bank, has been one of the beneficiaries of this, having been acquired by Raiffeisen International in August and being fully consolidated into the group since October 1 2005.

Botswana I Ethopia I The Gambia I Ghana I Kenya I Malawi I Mauritius I Namibia I Nigeria I Senegal I South Africa I Swaziland I Tanzania I Togo I Uganda I Zambia I Zimbabwe After a decade of World Bank and IMF-sponsored reforms – or rather attempts at reform – the Togolese economy remains stagnant, with GDP growth of just 1% in 2005 compared with population growth of about 2.72%. Lack of transparency in government institutions has hampered efforts to implement economic reform measures and encourage foreign investment. Periodic bouts of political unrest have been problematic for Togo’s development.

Botswana I Ethopia I The Gambia I Ghana I Kenya I Malawi I Mauritius I Namibia I Nigeria I Senegal I South Africa I Swaziland I Tanzania I Togo I Uganda I Zambia I Zimbabwe After four decades of uninterrupted civilian leadership, progressive social policies and significant capital investment, Botswana is one of the most dynamic economies in Africa and in 2005 attained a per capita GDP of more than $10,000 – making it a middle-income country – when GDP rose 4.5%. The strong economy has clearly benefited the country’s banks but necessarily some have benefited more than others.

Australia I China I Hong Kong I India I Indonesia I Japan I Malaysia I Mongolia I Pakistan I Philippines I Singapore I Taiwan I Thailand Commonwealth Bank of Australia wins this year’s award for best bank in Australia. The country’s second-largest bank by assets, CBA beat its closest rivals in financial strength and performance terms. Earning a net interest margin of almost 2.5% and a return on average assets of 1.33% in the latest financial year, CBA benefited from one of the industry’s lowest cost-income ratios to produce a return on average equity of 15.71%.

Botswana I Ethopia I The Gambia I Ghana I Kenya I Malawi I Mauritius I Namibia I Nigeria I Senegal I South Africa I Swaziland I Tanzania I Togo I Uganda I Zambia I Zimbabwe Despite social conditions that might be thought to curtail normal business activity – part of Ethiopia experienced a famine in 2005 and hostilities with rebel groups in the country have escalated – the Ethiopian economy grew at a cracking 8.9% in 2005. Dashen Bank, the leading private sector bank in the market, has taken advantage of this growth and kept admirably focused on growing its operations profitably and introducing new products and services to its customer base.

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

Bahrain I Egypt I Iran I Israel I Jordan I Kuwait I Lebanon I Morocco I Oman I Qatar I Saudi Arabia I United Arab Emirates I Lifetime Achievement Bank Mellat, Iran’s third-largest bank, increased its assets by 31.4% to $23.6 billion in the past year and total operating income by 53.3% to $1.35 billion, as well as looking to develop further its international network by opening a subsidiary in South Korea.

Botswana I Ethopia I The Gambia I Ghana I Kenya I Malawi I Mauritius I Namibia I Nigeria I Senegal I South Africa I Swaziland I Tanzania I Togo I Uganda I Zambia I Zimbabwe Africa’s most populous country has benefited hugely from record oil prices – GDP grew 6.2% in 2005 – but observers are concerned that it will distract the government from a ambitious reform agenda that aims to get the country’s non-oil economy off its knees.

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