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What happens when you ask hyper-aggressive over-achievers if they think they’re the best in the industry? John Anderson knows all too well.

The inexorable rise of Banka Kombetare Tregtare (BKT) continued in 2015, as the Turkish-owned bank overtook long-standing market leader Raiffeisen Bank to become Albania’s largest lender. By the end of 2015, BKT’s share of the overall loan market had risen to 19.6% on the back of year-on-year portfolio growth of 9.1%, while that of its Austrian rival had dropped to 18.9%. Raiffeisen’s deleveraging was partly driven by a reduction in risk appetite on the part of the parent group, but high levels of legacy bad debts also weighed on growth and profitability.

Results index One increasingly important way for banks to differentiate themselves is through their corporate social responsibility activities, which helps to bind banks to their local communities and build and retain customers in those regions. Lafise Bancentro’s innovative and effective One Laptop Per Child charitable organization has previously been recognized by Euromoney. The programme continues to evolve from the original concept, launched in 2009, to provide central American children with better educational opportunities. This evolution is the reason Lafise Bancentro wins the award for the region’s best bank for CSR.

Akbank wins best bank in central and eastern Europe; Citi retains best investment bank in the region; UniCredit is best financing house for 2016.

The world’s banks are doing more than pay lip service to corporate social responsibility. But they need to go further and make their commitment part of the fabric of each institution.

BNP Paribas wins region’s best bank award and is named best bank for transaction services and wealth management in western Europe; Barclays takes best investment bank title; ING, Santander and CaixaBank win inaugural regional awards in digital, CSR and SME categories respectively; ABN Amro stages the best bank transformation.

The big beasts of DCM are regaining market share just as sovereign issuers are being reminded how much they need the expertise and risk-management capabilities of their relationship banks.

Lloyds has reached a milestone in its bid to transform itself into a lean and simple financial institution, well-suited to the post-crisis regulatory climate.

Austrian market leader Erste Bank posted another set of healthy results in 2015 but the standout story of the year, in terms of both growth and profitability, belonged to Bawag PSK. The private equity-owned bank saw its bottom-line result jump by 26% year-on-year to €418 million, giving a sector-beating return on equity of 16.2% on the back of higher core revenues, lower operating expenses and a dramatic reduction in risk costs.

Results index RBC Capital Markets wins Euromoney’s award for best bank for markets in North America. It is one of the few financial institutions that can claim to be a top player in both the US and Canada. In the US where it competes with domestic banks, the Canadian firm has succeeded in growing revenues in its fixed income, currencies and commodities business by 3.2% since 2012, gaining market share as US banks reduced their balance sheets.

Results index The African banking sector has invested heavily in digital services to its clients and is among the most advanced in the world in that area. One bank stands out, however, having tripled its e-business income over the past year, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank).

A list of winners of Euromoney’s Central and Eastern Europe Awards for Excellence 2016, as well as detailed citations for all of the winners, is available here