The Banker Magazine: World's Best Banks of 2008

One of the worst performing sectors in the current bear market is the financial sector. Many bank stocks are down over 50%. The financials sector in the S&P 500 Index is down 56.3% year-to-date. On the international level, many well known banks have had to raise capital to stay in business. Others have been gobbled up by their competitors.

In this scenario, The Banker magazine presented its Ninth Bank of the Year Awards for 2008.

While now is not the best time to jump into some of these beaten-down financials, it is prudent to watch this sector and monitor developments.

The Banker Magazine selected The Best Banks of the world 2008 based on many criteria including:

• Questionnaires Submitted by 740 banks from 150 countries
• Latest Earnings Results
• Growth Rates
• Performance data over the period contained in the Questionnaire
• Other factors like Technology, Acquisitions and Key Strategic Developments

As per the magazine, these winners “are the cream of the global banking community and the highest achievers in the industry.”

In this post I have listed the Winners at the global level. The table below includes tickers if the bank is traded in the USA.

The Best Banks of the World 2008

Category Bank Ticker Country

Global Bank of the Year	BNP Paribas	BNPQY.PK	France
Western Europe	BNP Paribas	BNPQY.PK	France
Central & Eastern Europe	Raiffeisen International	N/A	Austria
Asia	ICBC	N/A	China
Latin America	Banco Santander	STD	Spain
Middle East	National Bank of Kuwait	N/A	Kuwait
Africa	Standard Bank	N/A	South Africa
Emerging Markets	Standard Chartered Bank	N/A	UK
Cash Management	Citibank	C	USA
Securities Services	Bank of New York Mellon	BK	USA
Environmental, Social and Governance	Banco Bradesco	BBD	Brazil

Overview:

1. BNP Paribas of France won both the Global Bank of the Year and the award for best bank in Western Europe. BNP Paribas trades on the OTC market with ticker BNPQY.PK.

BNP Paribas was the 3rd largest bank in the world and the largest in Eurozone based on assets held as of April 30 this year (Source: The Banker). BNP is a member of France’s main stock market Index the CAC 40. The stock currently has a yield of 10.04%.

2. Spain-based Banco Santander (STD) won the award for Latin America because the bank has a huge presence in Latin American countries. Santander was part of the consortium that acquired ABN Amro of The Netherlands last year. In October, Santander acquired the remaining 75.65% of Sovereign Bancorp of the US it did not already own. The current dividend yield is 8.50%.

3. Citibank (C) was rescued by the U.S. government by pumping billions of dollars last month after the bank was on the verge of collapse. After reaching an all-time low of $3.05, Citi’s stock has rebounded to close at $7.71 on Friday. According to its deal with the government, Citi cannot pay more than $0.01 in quarterly dividends for the next three years without prior approval.

4. New York-based Bank of New York Mellon (BK) was formed after the merger of The Bank of New York Company, Inc. and Mellon Financial Corporation of Pittsburgh. In the last 52 weeks, the stock is down 39%. BK now pays a dividend of 3.19%.

5. Brazilian Banco Bradesco (BBD) won the award in the Environmental, Social and Governance category. Bradesco is one of the large private-sector banks in Brazil. BBD is a component of the Bovespa Index. Similar to its peer Banco Itau (ITU), BBD is down about 57% in the last 52 weeks.

Comments

[1worldcurrency:]

Citibank best for cash management? Is this their April fools' issue?
Citibank wins most bailed out bank.

This site is getting markedly worse.

2008 Dec 09 03:10 AM

[David Hunkar:]

1 world currency
I can understand your point. However "The Banker Magazine" selected Citi as the winner for cash mgmt.

-David

2008 Dec 27 11:21 PM

[biz201131:]

Santander lost sight of risk. See this article on the broad topic of risk as well as Botin's advice (not heeded)

www.marketwatch.com/ne...={EB3396B3-2BFB-4042-B...

Jan 03 10:37 AM