World Best Banks 2024 — Caribbean

Nearshoring, the tourism boom and increased remittances will further increase growth in 2023.

The region (excluding Guyana, which grew by a staggering 39.2% this year) expanded by 9.8%, outpacing global growth of 3.1%, according to International Monetary Fund estimates.

Among the region's major economies, Antigua and Barbuda's GDP activity is strong at 5.7%, while Barbados is expanding at 4.4%, helping to pave the way for robust activity in the region.

Vigorous economic activity in the region has increased profitability and provided a solid foundation for the region's financial industry. This was primarily due to loan portfolio growth, higher interest rates and improved delinquency rates in the commercial loans segment.

Against this background, Banriserva won the Best Bank award in the Caribbean and its home country of the Dominican Republic for the second year in a row. The Dominican Republic-based giant capitalized on a strong year in which it delivered an impressive 11% year-over-year (YoY) net income growth rate to keep its delinquency rate at a historic low of 0.66%. Did.

The bank's total deposits reached $15.1 billion in 2023, $1 billion more than in 2022. This performance has established the Bank as a leader in the Dominican banking system, with a market share of 38%.

Additionally, Banreservas made history by becoming the first bank in the Dominican Republic to achieve the historic benchmark of over $8.7 billion in its loan portfolio. As a result, the bank gained 36.9% of the market share with total assets of $19.6 billion and consolidated its position in the domestic market.

based in canada scotiabank It dominated the Caribbean islands that year, winning five awards: the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

In the Bahamas, the bank's profitability reached its highest point in 15 years, with profits up nearly 46% compared to 2022. This trend was primarily driven by a 37 basis point (bp) increase in total loan market share and a 49 basis point (bp) increase in loan market share year over year. bp growth in total deposits market share.

Scotiabank Barbados focused on improving digital inclusion by enhancing its digital services. As a result, the bank's digital adoption increased to 244,000 transactions, an increase of 57% year-on-year. On the financial front, these efforts nearly doubled profitability year-over-year and increased return on equity (ROE) by 9%.

In Jamaica, the Canadian bank's strong financial performance was driven by growth in all core business areas, resulting in an impressive net income of $17.3 billion for the year ended October 31, 2023. This represents a 67% increase in total profit to $6.9 billion. than the previous year.

A focus on digital services proved to be a winning strategy in Trinidad and Tobago as well, with the bank achieving 7% year-on-year growth in its loan portfolio, ROE of 14.95% and operational efficiency of 44.7%.

The Canadian giants' best performance came in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Boosted by strong lending activity and solid delinquency rates, the bank achieved an excellent ROE of 138% and net income growth of 203%, reaching $27 million.

first bank Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands received double awards. In the former, the bank is leveraging its acquisition of Santander's $5.5 billion of local assets in 2020 to further deepen its leadership position. In the latter, the bank took advantage of the surge in tourism activity to increase its loan portfolio by 11.8% year-on-year.

Winner of Cayman Islands and Bermuda, butterfield bankfocused on digital inclusion to adorn impressive metrics for customers. The bank recorded a solid ROE of 24.2% and a core efficiency rate of 58.1%. As a result, the bank's net interest income amounted to a staggering $367 million, and non-interest income amounted to $212 million. Butterfield also took advantage of the Credit Suisse fiasco to buy a trust business in the Cayman Islands.