Southern Africa’s big beasts grow

As ever, South African banks dominate our table of the biggest banks in Southern Africa, filling the top six positions. This is an established pattern, with the South African market dominated by the big six and no other banks from the country making it into our table. Despite the establishment of digital-first banks in the country, none yet rank among the 20 biggest banks in the region.

Standard Bank remains by far the biggest bank in Africa but the biggest growth this year was been achieved by Absa Bank, which has increased its Tier 1 capital from $4.7bn in our 2024 survey to $5.6bn this year.

While the combined capital of the Top 20 has increased from $37.4bn to $40.4bn over the past year, that growth – as in other parts of the continent – is concentrated among the very biggest banks.

Those in the lower half of our table have enjoyed a less positive year. The $228m that allowed Standard Bank Namibia to claim #20 position this year was almost the same as the $226m that gave Absa Bank Botswana the same position last year.

The biggest non-South African bank is Mauritius Commercial Bank with $1.5bn, up from $1.4bn last year. There are six Mauritius banks in the Top 20. The remaining positions are filled by Angola and Mozambique with three each and Namibia with two. Zimbabwe and Zambia are again absent from the table and Absa Bank Botswana has dropped out of the regional table.

The absence of Zimbabwean banks is the result of  is the result of many years of huge shocks and decline in the country’s economy. Growth has been stronger since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the World Bank forecasts a 6% increase in GDP this year, so the country’s banks could re-enter our rankings if the economic environment in which they operate continues to improve. Sound government and governance will be key.

By contrast, Mauritius has already positioned itself as a continent-wide banking centre; its government, the Mauritius International Financial Centre and its big banks are now seeking to make full use of the African Continental Free Trade Area to expand their role in facilitating international trade across the continent, as well as between African companies and the rest of the world.

MCB also operates in Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa in Africa, plus Dubai, France and the Maldives further afield.

It is one of the oldest banks in Africa but has been quick to embrace new technology and was the first bank in the country to launch a mobile banking app, MCB Juice.

MCB recently upgraded to a single, unified Temenos banking software system, from the four it previously used, which made integration challenging, and is also employing AI-powered credit scoring to boost lending while reining in bad debt levels.