World’s Best Banks 2024 – Caribbean

Nearshoring, a tourism boom and rising remittances will fuel economic growth in 2023.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that the region (excluding Guyana, which grew by a staggering 39.2% this year) grew by 9.8%, faster than the global growth rate of 3.1%.

Among the region’s leading economies, Antigua and Barbuda’s robust 5.7% GDP growth and Barbados’ 4.4% economic growth have helped pave the way for strong economic activity in the region.

Strong economic activity in the region has led to increased profitability and provided a strong foundation for the region’s financial industry. This was mainly due to an increase in loan portfolios, higher interest rates and improved NPL ratios in the commercial loan sector.

On this background Banrezevas For the second year in a row, it received the award for “Best Bank in the Caribbean and its home country, the Dominican Republic.” Taking advantage of a favorable year and posting an impressive 11% year-on-year (YoY) net profit growth, the Dominican giant maintained its delinquency rate at an all-time low of 0.66%.

In 2023, the bank’s total deposits reached $15.1 billion, surpassing 2022’s total by a staggering $1 billion. This achievement made the bank the leader of the Dominican Republic banking system, occupying 38% of the market.

In addition, Banreservas made history by becoming the first bank in the Dominican Republic to reach a historic level in its loan portfolio, exceeding $8.7 billion. As a result, the bank strengthened its position in the domestic market, capturing 36.9% of the market share of assets totaling $19.6 billion.

Canada Scotiabank dominated the Caribbean this year, winning five awards in the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos.

In the Bahamas, bank profitability reached its highest level in 15 years, with profits up nearly 46% from 2022. The trend was driven primarily by a 37 basis points (bps) YoY increase in overall credit market share and a 49 basis points (bps) YoY growth. growth of the total share of the BP deposit market.

Scotiabank Barbados is focused on improving its digital inclusion by expanding its digital offerings. As a result, the bank’s digital adoption grew to 244,000 transactions, up 57% year-on-year. On the financial side, these initiatives resulted in profitability nearly doubling year-on-year and return on equity (ROE) jumping 9%.

In Jamaica, the Canadian bank’s strong financial performance was driven by growth across all core business lines, resulting in an impressive net profit of US$17.3 billion for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2023. This represents an increase in overall profits of US$6.9 billion, or 67%. compared to the previous year.

Focusing on digital offerings also proved to be a winning strategy in Trinidad and Tobago, where the bank saw its loan book grow by 7% YoY, return on equity by 14.95% and operating efficiency ratio by 44.7%.

The Canadian giant’s best performance came in Turks and Caicos. Thanks to strong lending activity and a solid non-performing ratio, the bank achieved a stellar return on equity of 138% and a 203% increase in net income, reaching $27 million.

FirstBank received two awards for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. In the first case, the bank continues to use its $5.5 billion acquisition of Santander’s local assets in 2020 to bolster its leadership position. In the latter case, the bank took advantage of growing tourism activity to increase its loan portfolio by 11.8% YoY.

Our winner in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, Butterfield Bank, has focused on digital reach to deliver impressive performance for its clients. The bank demonstrated a strong return on equity of 24.2% and an underlying efficiency ratio of 58.1%. This brought the bank’s net interest income to a staggering $367 million and non-interest income to $212 million.