Home AWARDS The International Banker 2017 North & South American Awards Winners

The International Banker 2017 North & South American Awards Winners

by internationalbanker

In recent months, the election of Donald Trump has been—and continues to be—the clearly dominant factor that prevails over North American banking. More than any one particular issue, it’s Trump’s promise to roll back much of the regulation enacted following the 2007-09 financial crisis that has caused banking stocks to post substantial gains. In addition to the “Trump trade”, US banking stocks have also rallied since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in December and strongly suggested it would do so a further three times during 2017, thus raising hopes of stronger net-interest margins lying ahead.

As such, US banks rounded off a generally strong 2016 with positive fourth-quarter earnings. The country’s biggest bank by assets, JPMorgan Chase, posted record profits. Annual net profits climbed by 1.2 percent during the year to hit $27.7 billion, mainly on the back of a solid US economic climate and strong brokerage activity. Total loans, meanwhile, were up by 7 percent from 2015 levels, coming in at $894.8 billion. Wells Fargo, which suffered a significant setback after it was revealed that the lender opened two million accounts without informing customers, also appears to now be over the worst of the debacle.

As Trump continues to pose an ever-greater threat to US-Mexico relations, US banks have also been slashing their exposure to the country. Nevertheless, Mexican banks posted stellar results for 2016. According to banking regulator CNBV (Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores), they managed to generate aggregate net income of 107 billion pesos ($5.26 billion) last year—8.3 percent higher than the previous year—with the largest seven banks, BBVA Bancomer, Santander, Citibanamex, Banorte, HSBC, Scotiabank and Inbursa, contributing 88 billion pesos of this total. Total assets for the sector grew 11.6 percent to 8.59 billion pesos. Loan growth and higher interest rates are among the chief underlying factors for the positive results.

Canada’s banking sector also enjoyed spectacular growth in 2016, in spite of a slowing economy, low interest rates and relatively modest commodity prices. Four of the country’s biggest banks posted strong earnings for last year’s final quarter, with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) posting net-income growth of 20 percent and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank) 25 percent. Scotiabank, meanwhile, experienced a 9-percent rise in profits, although RBC Royal Bank saw a marginal decline over the year.

Costa Rica’s fiscal deficit has become a growing concern for credit-ratings agencies, and, as such, the country’s biggest state-owned banks have recently experienced downgrades. In mid-February, Moody’s lowered the long-term local-currency deposit and foreign-currency senior unsecured-debt ratings of two of its biggest lenders, Banco Nacional de Costa Rica and Banco de Costa Rica, to negative outlooks.

Over recent years, most of South America’s biggest economies have experienced sharply contrasting fortunes. In turn, the respective performances of the banking sectors within the region today are incredibly varied, and range from spectacular to deeply troubling.

Brazil has suffered a torrid couple of years, with record falls in gross-domestic-product (GDP) figures. The contraction has had a marked effect on Brazilian banking, and in particular on loan portfolios that continue to reflect higher borrower default rates. The country’s largest privately owned bank, Itaú Unibanco, announced that its net income was down by 7.4 percent in 2016. Generally, however, Brazil’s banking stocks have posted considerable gains thus far in 2017. This has mainly been down to the country’s central bank, Banco Central do Brasil, cutting interest rates by 75 basis points to 13 percent, which was more than analysts’ predictions of a 50-basis point cut.

Under its new market-oriented government, Argentina continues to take giant strides towards returning to the international fold, with banks playing a crucial role in the country’s recovery. For instance, since President Mauricio Macri introduced a tax-amnesty deal to encourage those Argentines holding an estimated total of $500 billion in offshore assets to declare their funds, banks have been instrumental in facilitating their recovery.

Late last year, credit-ratings agency Fitch published a peer review of large Chilean banks—Banco Santander-Chile, Banco de Chile, Banco del Estado de Chile and Banco de Crédito e Inversiones—that account for 64.9 percent of total loans of the country’s entire banking sector. The review was largely positive, noting that the banks have exhibited remarkable resilience in the face of slowing economic growth, with GDP growing at an average of just 2 percent per year between 2014 and 2016. According to Fitch, Chile’s biggest lenders “exhibit a solid risk management framework based on local regulatory standards and robust corporate governance practices, adequate provisioning and controlled impairment levels”, whilst also possessing strong levels of liquidity.

 

 >>>NORTH AMERICA AWARD WINNERS  

 

               BANKING CEO OF THE YEAR                  
North America
Robert Sarver

Western Alliance Bancorporation (United States)

**********

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE
PROVIDER OF THE YEAR

North America
BAC San José (Costa Rica)

**********

Best Banking Group Canada
BMO Financial Group

Best Banking Group Jamaica
Victoria Mutual Building Society

Best Investment Bank Of The Year Canada
RBC Capital Markets

Best Investment Bank Of The Year Mexico
BBVA Bancomer

Best Investment Bank Of The Year United States
JP Morgan

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Barbados
Scotiabank

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Canada
Bank of Montreal

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Costa Rica
BAC San José

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year El Salvador
Banco Agrícola

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Mexico
BBVA Bancomer

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Trinidad and Tobago
Republic Bank

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year United States
Signature Bank

Best Private Bank Of The Year Bahamas
Deltec Bank & Trust

Best Private Bank Of The Year Canada
Royal Bank of Canada

Best Private Bank Of The Year United States
Bank of America

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Canada
Tangerine Bank

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Costa Rica
BAC San José

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Jamaica
Victoria Mutual Building Society

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Mexico
BBVA Bancomer

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Panama
Banco General

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Trinidad and Tobago
Republic Bank

Best Innovation In Retail Banking United States
Branch Banking and Trust

Best Practice Investor Relations United States
Bank of Hawaii

 

 

 

 >>>SOUTH AMERICA AWARD WINNERS  

 

BANKING CEO OF THE YEAR
South America
Walter Bayly

Banco de Crédito del Perú

**********

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE
PROVIDER OF THE YEAR

South America
Banco Security (Chile)

**********

Best Banking Group Argentina
Banco Macro

Best Banking Group Brazil
Itaú Unibanco

Best Banking Group Colombia
Grupo Bolívar

Best Investment Bank Of The Year Brazil
Itaú BBA

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Argentina
HSBC Bank Argentina S.A

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Bolivia
Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Chile
Banco Santander-Chile

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Colombia
Davivienda

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Ecuador
Produbanco

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Paraguay
Interfisa

Best Commercial Bank Of The Year Peru
Banco de Crédito del Perú

Best Private Bank Of The Year Brazil
GPS Investimentos Financeiros e Participações

Best Private Bank Of The Year Chile
Banco Security

Best Private Bank Of The Year Uruguay
Banque Heritage

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Argentina
HSBC Bank Argentina S.A.

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Bolivia
Banco Mercantil Santa Cruz

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Brazil
Banco Original

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Colombia
Davivienda

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Ecuador
Produbanco

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Paraguay
Banco Regional

Best Innovation In Retail Banking Peru
Banco de Crédito del Perú

Best Practice Investor Relations Argentina
Banco Macro

Best Practice Investor Relations Brazil
Itaú Unibanco

 

 

 

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