A new ranking of Africa’s top banks by Tier-1 capital for 2024 has spotlighted a clear hierarchy, with South African, Egyptian, and Moroccan banks leading the charge, while Nigerian banks strive to retain their footing amid currency pressures.
According to a new report by Proshare title ‘Tier 1 Banks Report: Getting Bigger, Braver, and Dominant—The Class of 2025,’ Standard Bank Group led African banks with the most tier-1 capital of $13 million, followed by National Bank of Egypt with $7 million and Attijariwafa Bank of Morocco with $6 million in 2024.
Despite the dominance of North and Southern African banks, four Nigerian banks—FBN Holdings (First Bank of Nigeria), Access Bank, Zenith Bank, and United Bank for Africa (UBA)—also made the list, each with Tier‑1 capital of $2 billion. However, their rankings have been impacted by exchange rate volatility.
“Tier-1 capital across African banks generally declined, primarily due to currency fluctuations that have weakened the dollar-equivalent value of capital,” the report stated.
It added that Nigeria’s rankings also dropped despite ongoing capital-raising initiatives led by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This may be attributed to recent currency devaluations.
South African and Egyptian banks each secured five spots among Africa’s largest banks by Tier‑1 capital, reflecting their resilience and ability to adapt to shifting market conditions, the report said.
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Top African Banks by Tier-1 Capital (2024)
Standard Bank Group – $13mn
Standard Bank Group Limited is Africa’s largest bank by assets and Tier‑1 capital.
Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, it operates in over 20 sub-Saharan African countries, along with global centres and offshore hubs, totalling operations in 26 countries.
National Bank of Egypt – $7mn
Standard Bank Group Limited is Africa’s largest bank by assets and Tier 1 capital. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, it operates in over 20 sub-Saharan African countries, along with global centers and offshore hubs, totaling operations in 26 countries.
Attijariwafa Bank – $6mn
Attijariwafa Bank, headquartered in Morocco, is the leading banking group in the Maghreb and WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union) and a key player in CEMAC (Central African Economic and Monetary Community).
Beyond banking, it operates across insurance, real estate loans, consumer credit, leasing, asset management, and financial advisory services. The Group is present in 27 countries across Africa and Europe, with additional representative offices in key global cities including Dubai, London, and Beijing.
Absa Bank – $5mn
Absa Group Limited, headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, operates in 10 African countries and maintains representative offices in London, New York, Namibia, and Nigeria. It offers a wide array of retail, business, and investment banking services.
Banque Centrale Populaire – $5mn
BCP Group, also referred to as Crédit Populaire du Maroc of Morocco and popularly known under the brand Banque Populaire or Chaabi, is a major financial services group in Morocco, headquartered in Casablanca, founded on 25 May 1926.
As of 2024, BCP Group was Morocco’s second-largest banking group, behind market leader Attijariwafa Bank and ahead of Bank of Africa. It has had the largest deposit base in the country for many years. Like its two main Moroccan peers, it has also expanded significantly into sub-Saharan Africa.
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Banque Misr – $5mn
Banque Misr (Bank of Egypt) is an Egyptian bank co-founded by industrialist Joseph Aslan Cattaui Pasha, Joseph Cicurel, and economist Talaat Harb Pasha in 1920.
The bank has branch offices in all of Egypt’s governorates and currency exchange and work permit offices for foreign workers in Egypt.
FirstRand – $5mn
FirstRand Limited, also referred to as FirstRand Group, is the holding company of FirstRand Bank and is a financial services provider in South Africa. It is one of the financial services providers licensed by the Reserve Bank of South Africa, the national banking regulator.
Listed on the JSE and the Namibian Stock Exchange, FirstRand Limited is one of the largest financial institutions in South Africa and provides banking, insurance, and investment products and services to retail, commercial, corporate, and public sector customers.
Nedbank – $5mn
Nedbank Group, founded in 1888 in Amsterdam, is a South African financial services provider offering retail and wholesale banking, insurance, asset, and wealth management. Headquartered in Sandton, its main market is South Africa, with operations across Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, and offices in Ghana and Kenya. Internationally, Nedbank offers services in the UK, UAE, Isle of Man, Jersey, and Guernsey.
Banque Extérieure d’Algérie – $4mn
The External Bank of Algeria (BEA) is an Algerian public bank. Created in 1967, it is based in Bir Mourad Rais, Algeria.
Bank of Africa – BMCE Group – $3mn
Bank of Africa (BOA) is an international financial services group headquartered in Casablanca, Morocco. It was formed through the acquisition of Bank of Africa by BMCE Bank (now Bank of Africa), a Moroccan banking group, in 2010. BOA Group operates in 19 countries across Africa and Europe, with a focus on financing the economy and supporting sustainable development.
Banque Nationale d’Algérie – $3mn
Established in 1966, the National Bank of Algeria (BNA) is the country’s oldest commercial bank, handling credit, banking, and foreign exchange operations.
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Investec Bank – $2mn
Investec is an international banking and wealth management group founded in 1974, headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It offers a wide range of financial products and services, including private banking, wealth management, investment solutions, and insurance. Investec operates in Europe, Southern Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
Arab African International Bank – $2mn
Founded in 1964 as Egypt’s first multinational bank, Arab African International Bank (AAIB) is a joint venture between the Central Bank of Egypt and the Kuwait Investment Authority. Today, AAIB is a full-service regional bank offering a wide range of retail, corporate, SME, investment, and transaction banking services, along with asset management, brokerage, leasing, and microfinance solutions.
Commercial International Bank (CIB) – $2mn
Established in 1975 as a joint venture between the National Bank of Egypt and Chase Manhattan, Commercial International Bank (CIB) is now Egypt’s leading private sector bank. It offers a wide range of financial services to corporates, SMEs, households, and high-net-worth individuals. Known for its strong brand and governance, CIB serves over 500 top corporations and has been Egypt’s most profitable commercial bank for over four decades.
FBN Holdings – $2mn
First Bank of Nigeria is a multinational bank and financial services company with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. First Bank was founded in 1894 by Sir Alfred Jones and is currently owned by First HoldCo PLC, which in itself has diversified ownership with over 1.3 million shareholders.
The First Bank Group has over 820 business locations across Africa and has an agent banking network with over 233,500 locations across Nigeria as of 2024. The bank specializes in retail banking, with a client base in West Africa of over 42 million customers.
Access Bank – $2mn
Access Bank was founded in 1988 and incorporated as a private commercial bank in 1989. establishing its first office located at Burma Road in the Apapa district of Lagos.
The bank’s business segments include banking, consumer lending, payment services, insurance brokerage, and pension fund administration. Its subsidiaries include Access Bank Plc (the Bank), Hydrogen Payment Services Company, and Access Pensions Limited.
Zenith Bank – $2mn
Zenith Bank Plc is a financial service provider in Nigeria and Anglophone West Africa. It is licensed as a commercial bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the national banking regulator.
In 1990, Jim Ovia founded Zenith Bank plc to compete with the existing four major banks.[8] Zenith Bank was established in May 1990 and commenced banking operations in July of the same year.
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Crédit Populaire d’Algérie – $2mn
The CPA was created in 1966 by Algerian banking regulations. CPA carries out credit and banking operations. It is authorized to receive deposits, grant loans in all forms, invest in company capital, and mobilize on behalf of third parties any loans granted by other institutions, among other activities.
QNB Al Ahli – $2mn
QNB ALAHLI, established in 1978, is Egypt’s second-largest private bank, serving over 1 million clients through 220 branches, 464 ATMs, and 18,000+ POS terminals. It offers comprehensive banking services. Its subsidiaries include QNB ALAHLI Leasing (1997), QNB ALAHLI Life Insurance (2003), and QNB ALAHLI Factoring (2012), providing specialised financial solutions across leasing, insurance, and factoring.
United Bank of Africa (UBA) – $2mn
United Bank for Africa Plc is a multinational pan-African financial services group headquartered in Lagos and known as Africa’s Global Bank. It has subsidiaries in 20 African countries and offices in London, Paris, and New York. In December 2021, UBA received its banking license to commence operations in the UAE.
