Kudos for Standard Bank

Johannesburg - Standard Bank Group [JSE:SBK] has again been named as Africa's top bank in the The Banker magazine's 2011 rankings of the world's top banks by their Tier 1 capital.

Standard Bank rose from 106th place to 94th place in The Banker's list of 1 000 top banks in the world. The Banker is a leading global journal of the sector.

The aim of The Banker's annual top 1 000 world banks survey is to show banks' soundness in relation to the Basel requirement of a minimum ratio of Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of 4% (increasing to 7% by 2019), and a minimum ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets of 8%.

The Banker reports in its July edition that Standard Bank has upped its Tier 1 capital to $12.06bn, an increase of 26.15% on the previous year and almost twice as much as the second-ranked bank.

Sim Tshabalala, deputy CEO of the Standard Bank Group, said the continued rise up The Banker's rankings table demonstrates the group's significant strength and ability to implement its strategy across Africa.

"It is particularly pleasing to achieve a top ranking on the basis of objective criteria applied by an independent journal. The ranking points again to the substance in our strategy to keep Africa firmly at the core of Standard Bank.

"The strong capital position, highlighted by The Banker's rankings, provides a stable platform for further growth. We will continue to build first class, on-the-ground banking franchises in chosen markets in Africa, investing in people, branch networks and systems," said Tshabalala.