STANDARD Bank was named the best bank in Africa in Global Finance’s 28th annual listing of the best banks worldwide given its knowledge of the continent. Standard Bank was also recognised as the best bank in South Africa and best bank in Uganda.
Standard Bank with a presence in 20 sub-Saharan Africa nations and global financial centres like Beijing, Dubai, London, New York and Sao Paulo, won based on its knowledge of the region developed over its more than 150 years of existence, its performance during the Covid-19 pandemic and programmes tailored to its market.
Global Finance said despite 2020’s strong headwinds, Standard Bank managed a return on equity (ROE) of 8.9 percent, a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 13.3 percent, which was about 180 basis points more than the bank’s targeted 10 percent to 11.5 percent range that was approved by the board of directors, and a 19 percent increase in overall liquidity.
Global Finance also said the bank spent much of last year further developing its OneFarm platform, designed to improve Africa’s agribusiness sector by giving farmers access to financial and other services that will let them migrate from subsistence to commercial farming.
“Standard Bank is working with 150 stakeholders to electronically link farmers to other participants in the farm-to-fork supply chain to reduce the amount of current pain points. Standard Bank also began partnering with Salesforce.com in June 2020, to power the group’s digital platform and service the bank’s ecosystem of clients,” said the Global Finance.
The editors of Global Finance, with input from industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts, selected the winners for the World’s Best Banks 2021 using information provided by banks and other providers.
Global Finance selected Standard Bank and other winners of the World’s Best Banks 2021 awards based on their performance over the past year and other criteria, including their reputation, management excellence and leadership in digital transformation and corporate citizenship.
“To be recognised in this way by Global Finance is a great honour for the Standard Bank Group. Over the past year we have had to work even harder than usual to support our employees, clients and communities during difficult circumstances. I’m delighted to accept this award in grateful recognition of the excellent work done by my dedicated and resilient colleagues throughout our business,” said Standard Bank’s chief executive Sim Tshabalala.
According to the Global Finance, JP Morgan, which took the top honours as Global Finance’s World’s Best Bank 2021, the World’s Best Investment Bank and World’s Best Private Bank, kept its clients afloat during the early days of the pandemic while remaining a commanding global presence in raising capital, processing payments and reaffirming its commitment to sustainability.
The winners were those banks and providers that best served the specialised needs of corporations engaged in global business.
“We seek to honour not the biggest institutions but the best: those with qualities companies should look for when choosing a provider,” said Global Finance.
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