Our 2025 desk of the Prime 100 African banks has a really acquainted look to it (scroll down for the complete listing.)
The highest three are in the identical order as final 12 months, whereas the one change within the composition of the highest ten is that Algeria’s two largest banks swap locations at #10 and #11 positions. Total, the rankings are pretty secure, with some slight development from final 12 months’s survey. Complete capital is, nonetheless, nonetheless down on 2022: so it has been a gentle if not spectacular 12 months for African banks.
South Africa’s Customary Financial institution stays the continent’s largest financial institution by far, with its $13.2bn Tier 1 capital up from $12.5bn final 12 months. That is nicely forward of Nationwide Financial institution of Egypt in second place with $7.3bn, down barely from $7.5bn in 2024. Morocco’s Attijariwafa Financial institution comes third with $6.2bn, up from $6bn in 2024, because it begins to shut the hole on its North African rival.
Attijariwafa Financial institution recorded a 26.6% rise in its internet revenue for 2024 to $950m, with development in its operations each in Morocco and extra typically throughout the 13 different African nations wherein it operates. It lent 8% extra in Morocco final 12 months, rising its market share to twenty-eight.1% from 26.9% in 2023. Attijariwafa additionally has branches in ten markets outdoors Morocco, primarily in Europe but additionally the Gulf States, which largely serve Moroccans dwelling abroad. The financial institution now additionally works with cross-border cost supplier Thunes to allow remittances to be transferred into Moroccan accounts inside seconds.
North African banks rise
The most important long-term change within the Prime 10 is that South Africa’s 4 largest banks are now not the 4 largest on the continent. Going again greater than a decade, Customary Financial institution, FirstRand, Absa and Nedbank had been recurrently the 4 largest African banks, with Investec generally making the highest 5 totally South African. Nevertheless, the relative dominance of the nation’s banks has been eroded on account of the poor efficiency of the South African financial system, even when the banks themselves have typically outperformed the nationwide financial system as an entire. Customary Financial institution should cleared the path, however its capital of $13.1bn is just not a giant improve on the $10.3bn it achieved in 2013, for instance.
Whereas there might seem like geographical variety within the Prime 100, the highest of the desk is monopolised by South African and North African banks. Nigeria’s Entry Financial institution is the most important in sub-Saharan Africa outdoors South Africa, at #14 place with $2bn in “Tier 1” capital (see field on methodology). Nigerian banks managed to interrupt into the highest ten between ten and 15 years in the past, however their relative power has declined because the Nigerian financial system has faltered, with falling oil manufacturing, forex fluctuations and the gradual tempo of financial diversification taking their toll – though the nation is plotting a turnaround.
The presence of each Banque Extérieure d’Algérie and Banque Nationale d’Algérie in our Prime 10 may recommend some financial power in that nation however the image is blended. Algeria’s GDP has grown by a median of three.8% a 12 months since 2021 as oil and gasoline costs have recovered on the again of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however the nation faces the identical structural challenges as ever.
The Algerian authorities nonetheless controls key components of the financial system and deliberate financial diversification has been gradual, curbing the expansion of the personal sector and reining within the development prospects for Algerian banks. These have additionally been a lot slower than their Moroccan counterparts to develop into the remainder of the continent, though Algerian Financial institution of Senegal and Algerian Union Financial institution’s operations in Mauritania are at the least a begin. On the similar time, Financial institution of Algeria lastly joined the Pan-African Fee and Settlement System (PAPSS) in August 2025.
Banks in North Africa have more and more dominated our desk as an entire and account for 42 entries this 12 months after reaching 43 in our 2024 desk. This 12 months, 17 of these come from Egypt and 9 from Morocco, though the Moroccan banks are on common ranked larger, with Fonds d’Equipement Communal the one Moroccan financial institution positioned decrease than #38.
East African banks comply with up
East Africa is the subsequent greatest represented area with 21 entries, led by Kenya with ten. The variety of Ethiopian banks stands at six, up from 5 final 12 months and simply two in 2022. It appears probably that Ethiopian banks will acquire higher illustration on account of banking sector deregulation and rising competitors in that nation’s monetary providers sector.
Southern Africa has 20 entries, with six every from South Africa and Mauritius, though the South African banking sector as an entire is extra necessary given the scale of its banks. Mauritius is the very best represented nation in our desk in relation to the scale of its inhabitants, with one financial institution within the Prime 100 for each 210,000 inhabitants.
In contrast, West and Central Africa is the worst represented area, with simply 17 entries, together with simply two – BGFI Gabon and Rawbank of the Democratic Republic of Congo – in Central Africa. Nigeria has ten banks in our desk, though its 10% share of the entries is rather a lot decrease than its 16.5% share of the continent’s inhabitants. Francophone sub-Saharan Africa is especially poorly represented with simply six entries if Rwanda, with Financial institution of Kigali in #96 place, is included.
East Africa’s place is just not as sturdy when complete Tier 1 capital for all banks in our Prime 100 is assessed. The mixed capital of all its entries stands at simply $12.7bn, the bottom of any area, though this does signify the most important proportional improve since our 2024 survey, when the determine stood at $10.5bn. It also needs to be famous that the variety of East African entries has risen from 13 in 2022 to 21 in the present day, so though it may very well be seen because the weakest area when it comes to banking power, it will also be characterised because the quickest rising.
West and Central Africa has the subsequent lowest capital at $14.9bn, which is definitely a fall from $15.6bn final 12 months, suggesting that the area’s banks as an entire haven’t skilled a optimistic previous 12 months. Southern Africa comes subsequent with $40.4bn, up from $37.4bn final 12 months, whereas North Africa is an important area general with $57.9bn, a small rise from $56.5bn in 2024.
Regardless of the significance of South African banks, the higher variety of North African banks signifies that the area has extra Tier 1 capital amongst its entries than another area.
Rising competitors
Our Prime 100 has mixed Tier 1 capital of $126bn this 12 months, up from $120bn in 2024 however nonetheless nicely down on the $135.3bn recorded in 2022. Regardless of rising competitors within the sector and the advantages of digitalisation for each banks and financial institution prospects, it seems that the continent’s largest banks have had an affordable moderately than spectacular previous 12 months.
Nevertheless, our desk doesn’t seize smaller banks and there’s no doubt that there are numerous new entrants within the sector as digital banks, company banking, cell cash and telecoms firms all supply a variety of various approaches which can be serving to to offer monetary providers to the unbanked.
Regardless of the slight improve in complete Tier 1 capital within the Prime 100, this rise appears to be extra concentrated among the many bigger banks in our rankings. Awash Worldwide Financial institution took the #50 place on this 12 months’s desk with $507m however Banco Angolano de Investimentos wanted $533m to take the identical place final 12 months. Furthermore, Algeria’s Allam Financial institution required $222m to safe the ultimate place in our rankings this 12 months however $230m was required for Union Worldwide de Banques to attain the identical place in 2024.
New entrants and massive movers
There are 9 new entrants in our Prime 100 and 13 banks transfer up 12 locations or extra in our desk, together with three Ethiopian banks. Certainly, Awash Worldwide Financial institution is the most important riser, shifting up 18 positions to #50 in our desk with Tier 1 capital of $507m. Awash was the primary personal industrial financial institution arrange following the preliminary section of deregulation in 1991, and now has virtually 12m prospects.
4 Kenyan banks are among the many largest risers, offering additional proof that East Africa as an entire is rising in power.
In addition to being the most important financial institution by Tier 1 Capital this 12 months, Customary Financial institution was additionally essentially the most worthwhile financial institution with a revenue of $2.7bn. Solely 5 different banks recorded earnings in extra of $1bn: Nationwide Financial institution of Egypt with $2.3bn, Attijariwafa Financial institution ($1.2bn), FirstRand ($1.4bn) and Banque Misr ($2bn). On the different finish of the dimensions, Crédit Agricole du Maroc registered a revenue of simply $5m, regardless of being ranked #31 when it comes to Tier 1 Capital, however this can be due to its function in supporting social and financial growth in rural Morocco.
Widening the pool of consumers
African banks have put a substantial amount of consideration on rising their buyer numbers in recent times, utilizing digital platforms to succeed in and serve prospects at a decrease long-term value that by conventional financial institution branches. This has encompassed beforehand unbanked particular person retail prospects but additionally the micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) that make up the overwhelming majority of companies in Africa and worldwide.
Growth banks are enjoying a key function in offering industrial banks with financing to assist attain smaller companies.
Most just lately, in July 2025, the Arab Fund for Financial and Social Growth signed an settlement to offer the Nationwide Financial institution of Egypt with $50m to help MSMEs, with a specific deal with driving sustainable financial development, job creation and monetary inclusion in areas with a excessive proportion of individuals with out entry to banking providers.
This adopted an identical settlement in 2023, underneath which the European Financial institution for Reconstruction and Growth offered NBE with $400m funding for SMEs, together with by the financial institution’s community of virtually 700 branches. Customary Financial institution additionally secured $400m from the African Growth Financial institution in December 2024 to “allow the dimensions up of commerce finance help to native banks” by lending to SMEs. The elevated penetration of banking providers, even to prospects who generate comparatively little revenue in the present day, ought to create extra banking exercise sooner or later as these people and SMEs turn into wealthier.
Methodology: how we rank African banks
Capital in our desk refers to Tier 1 Capital: banks’ preliminary capital, plus reserves and retained earnings, which demonstrates a financial institution’s general power. The column for belongings primarily covers the scale of their mortgage ebook. It needs to be famous that there’s some variation within the date of the newest outcomes for every financial institution; now we have used essentially the most up-to-date figures out there and have excluded some banks the place information is previous or unreliable. A lot of the continent’s largest banks are primarily based in pretty open markets. Though Libyan banks are typically nicely capitalised, no information is out there and they also can’t be included.
The info come from the Bankers Almanac and African Enterprise in-house analysis. The figures are primarily based on capital, asset and revenue figures from the most recent monetary outcomes, which the banks publish in native currencies however which we convert into US {dollars} to permit for comparability. Foreign money fluctuations have an effect on year-on-year comparisons and result in modifications within the rankings.
Growth banks
The continent’s growth banks, such because the African Growth Financial institution (AfDB) and African Export Import Financial institution (Afreximbank) play an necessary function inside the continent’s monetary ecosystem they usually too may be assessed when it comes to their Tier 1 capital.
The AfDB is the most important growth financial institution in Africa by far, with $15.6bn, up from $14bn in our 2024 survey. That is sufficient to place it on the prime of our Prime 100 African Banks, forward of Customary Financial institution, if it had been included alongside the industrial banks. It’s adopted by Afreximbank – which the AfDB helped discovered and wherein it nonetheless holds a stake – with $6.2bn; and the Arab Financial institution for Financial Growth in Africa with $5.6bn.
Final 12 months the AfDB disbursed about $10bn; Africa requires way more from a number of sources.
Afreximbank and the AfDB are additionally the most important growth banks when measured by belongings, holding $90.7bn between them. In response to the Affiliation of African Growth Finance Establishments, the monetary efficiency of African growth banks outstripped that of their counterparts on different continents in 2022, with a return on belongings of 1.37%; European growth banks handle 0.46%.
Different growth banks working in particular areas are often tied to regional organisations, such because the Southern African Growth Neighborhood and the East African Neighborhood. The Growth Financial institution of Southern Africa is the most important with $2.5bn, simply forward of Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement ($2bn), Ecowas Financial institution for Funding and Growth (EBID) ($541m) and the East African Growth Financial institution ($337m).
Africa’s growth banks are necessary sources of long-term financing and their help for tasks tends to encourage different lenders, together with industrial banks, to affix them.
They increase most of their funds from member states’ subscriptions and borrowing on worldwide markets. Earnings additionally comes from mortgage repayments and a few help from donors. They’re a key supply of lending to micro, small and medium enterprises by the continent’s industrial banks, which have typically been reluctant to offer finance.
