Africa's Top 100 Banks 2026: Nigeria bank recap drives West Africa
Nigeria's banks look well set for the future after completing recapitalisation, while banks from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire are well represented.
The 2026 Africa Top 100 Banks ranking highlights a resurgence in West African banking, led by Nigerian institutions. Nigeria alone accounts for 12 of the region's top 100 banks, with five of the six largest banks headquartered there. This growth is partly attributed to recent recapitalization reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which are bolstering the industry's capacity to fund large-scale projects.
Access Bank is expanding into Kenya, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) already boasts one of the continent's most extensive banking networks. However, domestic challenges persist, including high inflation, interest rates, and currency fluctuations. Despite this, Ghana's banks have shown strong recovery post the 2022-23 domestic debt crisis, with capital adequacy ratios rising to 17.5% in 2025.
Côte d'Ivoire's financial landscape is represented by Société Générale and NSIA Banque, with the Ivorian economy supporting infrastructure investments and Abidjan's role as a business hub. Central Africa, despite its vast resources, is underrepresented, with only Rawbank from the Democratic Republic of Congo and BGFI Gabon listed in the top 20.
Nonetheless, there's potential for growth as the region focuses on developing financial systems aligned with its economic scale.
Written by urgent.news from Africa Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
