In the 12 months since last year's Deals of the Year, the bad news just kept on coming. Venerable names disappeared; others remain but in a different guise. Yet despite the turmoil, the number and quality of entries this year was extremely high. The Banker's judges considered 416 deals from 102 banks worldwide, which made clear the growing strength of regional banks and were proof indeed that good deals can get done in bad markets.
Early euro adoption plans for countries across central and eastern Europe (CEE) have fallen by the wayside, as loose fiscal policies made it difficult to meet the Maastricht criteria for budget balances and inflation. But in 2008, Slovakia bucked the trend and qualified to enter the eurozone in January 2009.
Uganda’s minister of finance, Dr Ezra Suruma, has overseen a year of strong growth in the face of a series of economic head winds. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth looks likely to hit almost 10% in 2008, well above the African average. Construction and services fuelled economic growth in 2007/08 and exports grew by 50%.
For Panama’s public finances, 2008 started and ended well. In February 2008, rating agency Standard & Poor’s raised the country’s sovereign credit rating to BB+, from BB, citing a budget that recorded a surplus of 2.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007, compared with a deficit of 5.6% in 2004. Government debt has fallen from 42% of GDP to 32% over the same period.
The Banker’s Bank of the Year country awards acknowledge banks for the best overall performance in their country. Our global editorial team chose the winners based on analysis of the latest results and performance data provided by the banks through questionnaires plus a review of their strategic developments and overall achievements
For many central bank governors, 2008 was a roller-coaster year, where fears over high inflation due to commodity prices in the first half suddenly switched to concerns over liquidity shortages in the second half. This required nimble monetary policy responses, and the Central Bank of China (CBC) in Taiwan was particularly careful in charting its course.
While most of the world’s banks are suffering from the devastation caused by the global credit crunch, the 66 banks in Lebanon, a country heavily scarred by the 1975-90 civil war, high national debt, chronic budget deficits and wars with Israel, expect their aggregate balance sheet to grow by 12% in 2008 along with a 10% growth in profits.
Chile’s export-oriented economy will not be immune from the impact of the global slowdown, but its financial sector has been something of a haven of stability in Latin America in the face of the disruption unleashed by the subprime crisis.