When it comes to productivity, bigger is usually better. Small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) and micro, small and midsize enterprises (MSMEs) face a significant gap in value-added per worker compared to their larger peers.

Small-business productivity is half that of larger firms, the authors of a 2024 study by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) found. In emerging markets, the average is 29%, or a 71% gap. Kenya has the widest gap of the 16 emerging economies studied, at 94%, while Brazil has the narrowest, at 46%. In advanced economies, the average productivity gap is 40%, with Poland showing a 50% gap and the UK 16%.

These differences in value-added represent serious money left on the table, considering that MSMEs represent 90% of businesses globally: approximately half of the private-sector value-added and nearly two-thirds of business employment. According to MGI, the actual productivity ratio versus the top quartile level averages 5% and 10% of GDP for advanced and emerging economies, respectively.

“It ranges from 2% in Israel and the UK, to 10% in Japan among advanced economies, and from 3% in Brazil to 15% in Indonesia and Kenya among the emerging economies,” the authors reported. “On a per business worker basis, the amount is meaningful, ranging from about $3,000 in Israel to $12,900 in Japan among advanced economies and from $3,200 in Mexico to $8,800 in Indonesia among emerging economies (all in purchasing power parity terms).”

Lack of access to finance drives much, but not all, of the productivity gap. A World Bank study estimates that MSMEs face $5.2 trillion in unmet finance needs, or 50% more than the current lending market for such businesses.

When MSMEs seek help to improve productivity, they can turn to governments, business partners, and financial institutions, each providing unique offerings.

Governments can assist with public financing programs and fund core infrastructure development, but poor management and oversight have often blunted their success.

“For decades, governments in emerging market and developing economies have implemented programs to improve SME access to finance, often at a large budget cost. Yet, the SME financing gap remains large, especially in the least developed countries, and public budgets are tight,” Jean Pesme, global director of the World Bank’s Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, noted in a 2024 research report. He suggests governments adopt “a more evidence-driven approach for the design and implementation of support to ensure it reaches the SMEs facing the most critical financial constraints.”

On the other hand, the productivity gap can be bridged in part by creating an economic fabric in which larger and smaller companies work together, argues Olivia White, a senior partner at McKinsey and director of MGI. “That, in fact, boosts productivity both of the smaller firms and the larger ones,” she says.

The MGI study cited DuPont leveraging a banking relationship to secure working capital credit for its MSME suppliers in rural areas, strengthening its supply chain and increasing sales.

But not all help needs to be financial. The MGI report cites automotive MSMEs, which have “gained operational proficiency through systematic interactions with productive original equipment manufacturers, and small software developers [that] have benefited from talent and capital ecosystems seeded by larger companies.”

Financial institutions have historically been a two-edged sword for MSMEs, but that is changing. Banks fund MSMEs, but since the latter have less capital and security than larger players, they face more rigid credit-scoring models that slow account opening and lending.

Banks have adopted innovative underwriting approaches, however, that incorporate additional alternative credit data to deliver affordable credit. MSMEs have responded positively to these new offerings. An Experian survey found that 70% of small businesses are willing to furnish such data if it means a better chance to obtain credit or reduce their borrowing rate. Banks are also investigating how they might act as matchmakers between their MSME and larger clients.

“Financial institutions often own the most important connective links between smaller and larger firms, the payment rails,” says MGI’s White. “One of the major ways that small and large firms interact is one does something for the other, and there needs to be a payment. By maintaining those rails, banks make it easier for the smaller and larger firms to interact.”

Nevertheless, it is early days for providing such services, she adds. More financial institutions are talking about being matchmakers, and many are experimenting with platform mechanisms that could facilitate client-to-client connections. But there is more development work to be done before these platforms can scale.

“I suspect it’s just going to depend a lot on the market and who sees that business opportunity,” says White.    —Robert Daly

With input from industry analysts, corporate executives, and technology experts, the editors of Global Finance selected the World’s Best SME Banks 2025 winners based on objective and subjective factors. The editors consulted entries submitted by the banks as well as the results of independent research. Entries were not required.

Judges considered performance from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. Global Finance then applied a proprietary algorithm to shorten the list of contenders and arrive at a numerical score of up to 100. The algorithm weights a range of criteria for relative importance, including knowledge of SME markets and their needs, breadth of products and services, market standing and innovation.

Once the judges narrowed the field, they applied the final criteria, including scope of global, regional, and local coverage, size and experience of staff, customer service, risk management, range of products and services, execution skills, and use of technology. In the case of a tie, the judges assign somewhat greater weight to local providers rather than global institutions. The panel also tends to favor private-sector banks over government-owned institutions. The winners are those banks and providers that best serve SMEs’ specialized needs.

Three times, it is a charm for Brazilian digital bank BTG Pactual, which took home the Best SME Bank Award for Brazil, Latin America, and the world. Having opened for business in 2019, it continues to increase its SME credit book, which grew 52% year-over-year to reach 22.1 billion reais (approximately $3.9 billion) in the first quarter of 2024. Nearly 40% of its lending portfolio—R$8.9 billion—was eligible for the bank’s Sustainable Financing Framework.

To support its agribusiness clients, BTG Pactual Empresas has introduced a variety of credit offerings, including real estate financing, invoice discounting, direct energy negotiations, and credit lines for clean energy and agribusiness supplies, equipment and facilities. And it has partnered with Latin American enterprise resource planning vendor Senior Sistemas to develop digital financial products and services for the latter’s systems.  

Global Finance: Small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) face a productivity gap compared with larger firms. What does BTG Pactual Empresas offer to improve SME productivity?

Rogério Stallone: Other banks and startups typically start with banking and then move to lending. Access to credit is the biggest bottleneck in Brazil today. That’s why BTG Pactual, the largest investment banking in Latin America, began to operate in this segment through credit. As a full-service bank, we have a lot of banking products, but we decided to start this project in 2019 with an offer that we knew would be a hallmark for the segment. We now have a credit portfolio of around $4.6 billion, with the aim of reducing corporate inequality.

Our strategy is to combine efforts and support SMEs in a market that was, until then, dominated by large companies. We believe that with appropriate credit and the right pricing, SMEs have the capability to operate competitively with other players, which is a good thing for the market as a whole.

Gabriel Motomura: On the cash management side of the business, we are also very focused on increasing our clients’ productivity. Just a few examples: Here in Brazil, and thinking almost worldwide, SMEs must log in to their bank website and then process payments, entering information individually. Huge companies can upload files from their ERPs and process those files within the bank, have feedback on whether the transactions went over or not, and then input that into their systems.

Here at BTG, we automated this task. For example, you can use Excel spreadsheets or Google Sheets. You enter the payments you want to make within that spreadsheet and then upload the spreadsheet to BTG, so there is no code platform. Instead of spending hours processing payments, you can do it in five minutes, maximum. We can update your bank statement automatically, and in Excel as well. We create a new line in your spreadsheet for every payment you make and save that transaction for you.

Another bottleneck is the payment of invoices, and we can also save them in Google Drive or OneDrive for you while you keep all your receipts in a single location. Whenever you want to verify a transaction with a supplier or a client, you can access that 24/7 with no logging needed.

GF: Are the offerings for all SME clients, or do you offer specialized offerings based on their sector, such as agribusiness?

Stallone: Yes, we customize some products depending on the sector. For example, agribusiness represents around 30% of Brazil’s GDP. We created a new credit card just for the agribusiness segment. Clients can use our credit card to buy raw materials, seeds, and other things and pay for them after they receive the money from the harvests. This is just an example of a product that we just launched.

GF: Some global banks have recently merged their business banking lines with their corporate and investment bank businesses to help SMEs grow to be larger clients. Is this on the bank’s road map?

Stallone: BTG Pactual historically was a wholesale bank, with more than 40 years of history. In the past, its focus was on large companies in Brazil. Why? Not because it didn’t like SMEs but because we didn’t have the appropriate products and services for them. Since 2019, we have invested heavily in IT and digitazation to offer SMEs the same products and services that large corporations can access.

GF: Do you still feel like a startup, six years since your launch?Motomura: Sure, part of that is how we organize ourselves. For example, we may be the singular segment within the bank where the business and IT teams actually sit next to each other. We have a very lean structure. We are just 60 people businesswide, covering more than 100,000 companies. It’s 100% based on technology. We couldn’t do it otherwise. 

Fraud attacks that enlist AI-generated deepfakes that impersonate high-level executives and AI-created synthetic identities are only rising. According to SWIFT, the global industry estimates the total cost of fraud in financial services to be $485 billion in 2023.

“Bad actors are using increasingly sophisticated tactics to commit financial crime, and the global financial industry needs to raise its defenses higher to ensure their customers can continue to transact globally with confidence,” said Jerome Piens, chief product officer at SWIFT.

The project relies on the billions of transactions that transverse SWIFT’s network annually as learning data for the AI engine. SWIFT strips identifiers from the data to protect privacy and replaces them with pseudonyms.

“The technology will identify suspicious patterns in real time, reducing fraud risk and ensuring a safer banking experience for clients,” added John McHugh, head of CIB Operations and Control at Standard Bank, in a prepared statement.

The new technology builds upon the cooperative’s Payment Control Service, which numerous small and midsize financial institutions use, and is part of SWIFT’s portfolio of AI innovations.

Participating banks in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Middle East, and North America completed the pilot with SWIFT earlier this year.

Additionally, the organization is working with major financial institutions to explore other ways they could share data among institutions while maintaining data privacy. One such technology they are investigating is federated learning, a machine learning technique that trains models across multiple decentralized servers or devices without revealing proprietary data.

Data sharing also earned a panel discussion during SWIFT’s 2024 Sibos conference in Beijing. Representatives from Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit and SWIFT recognized the benefits of data sharing but called for regulators to define a minimum level of data that could be shared to improve fraud detection, Finexta reported. Until such regulations are in place, financial institutions will likely hesitate to share transaction data.

“To build on our position of strength,” Executive Chairman Roger Farah said during the announcement, “we believe David and his deep understanding of our integrated business can help us more directly address the challenges our industry faces, more rapidly advance the operational improvements our company requires, and fully realize the value we can uniquely create.”

Joyner, who was most recently executive vice president of CVS Health and president of CVS Caremark, has 37 years of experience managing health care and pharmacy benefits.

He could not be assuming the top slot at a more critical time for the company, whose stock has dropped by approximately a third this year. The slide commenced with CVS Health’s February announcement that it was cutting its annual profit forecast due to rising Medicare-related costs and lower consumer spending on non-prescription items, which was followed by further cuts in May and August. Then on October 13, the company warned of disappointing third-quarter earnings and that investors should not rely on the company’s August guidance.

Glenview Capital Management, a health-care-focused hedge fund and shareholder, met with CVS Health executives in late September to discuss ways to improve the company’s performance, The Wall Street Journal reported. Weeks before Lynch’s sudden departure, the company reportedly had plans to eliminate 2,900 employee positions, or about 1% of its workforce, in a cost-cutting measure. CVS Health already cut 5,000 non-customer-facing positions in 2023.

Such poor performance raises the question whether pharmacies, insurance companies, and health-care providers offer enough, if any, synergies under one roof.

CVS Health stepped out of the pharmacy lane with its $69 billion cash acquisition of health insurer Aetna in 2018 under then-CEO Larry Merlo, Lynch’s predecessor. Lynch moved the company into other new fields when the company acquired money-losing primary care provider Oak Street Health for $9.5 billion in a cash transaction in February 2023. Seven months later, CVS Health purchased a home care provider, Signify Health, for $8 billion in cash. No matter the direction he takes, Joyner has a rough road ahead of him.

Banks face an uphill battle as supply chains remain disrupted, regional conflicts continue to build, and the fear of bank failure returns. Despite this, select financial institutions have threaded the needle and delivered stellar performances to their clients and shareholders over the past year.

JPMorgan Chase takes the top honor as Global Finance’s World’s Best Bank for 2024, as well as the World’s Best Investment Bank and World’s Best Private Bank. The global giant won its laurels thanks to a broad range of client offerings and solid financials while helping to arrest a series of US bank failures with its acquisition of First Republic Bank. Industry leadership, advancements in digitalization and corporate citizenship also factored in.

Throughout 2023, JPMorgan Chase raised $2.3 trillion in extended credit and new capital for its consumer and institutional clients while moving $10 trillion in over 120 currencies daily. For its 6.4 million small-business clients, the bank broadened its suite of payment acceptance offerings, including invoicing and a tap-to-pay option allowing merchants to accept card payments via their mobile devices.

The world dodged a global recession in 2023 as global output growth shrank to 3.3% from 3.5% in 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund’s July World Economic Outlook 2024. Advanced economies, the Middle East and Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa suffered dips in growth ranging from 0.9% to 3.4%. Only the emerging and developing economies in Europe and Asia experienced growth, their respective outputs growing by 2% and 0.3%. However, after 12 months of monetary tightening, the global economy is projected to grow 3.2% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025 as long as inflation remains in check, according to the report’s authors.

The high-profile failure in March 2023 of the regional Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which relied heavily on uninsured deposits, had many banks checking the models they use to determine asset correlations to which they might be exposed. SVB’s collapse quickly spread to Signature Bank and First Republic Bank, which shared similar characteristics, leading to the second-, third- and fourth-largest bank failures in US history.

The banks “failed as a result of a combination of unrealized interest rate losses from their long-term, fixed-rate assets and the loss of the low-rate deposits that had funded these assets,” Larry Wall, research center executive director of the Atlanta Fed’s Center for Financial Innovation and Stability, explained in a blog post. “Longtime observers of the financial system will see a parallel with the 1980s thrift debacle, in which approximately 1,300 savings and loans and savings banks failed, due in large part to their exposure to interest rate risk and their loss of the low-rate deposits that had been used to fund these assets.”

This time, the failures disproportionally affected the venture capital-backed tech startup sector that these banks catered to. In a letter to UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, the leaders of 180 tech companies said, “The loss of deposits has the potential to cripple the sector and send the ecosystem back 20 years.

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s quick response to the banks’ failures stemmed additional contagion and has left businesses with an object lesson in concentration risk.

Along with the World’s Best Bank, global honors this year include awards for Best Corporate Bank, Best Consumer Bank, Best Banks Worldwide in Emerging and Frontier Markets and Best Sub-Custodian Bank. All are being announced here for the first time. Previously announced honors include Best Global Transaction Bank, Best Bank for Sustainable Finance, Best Islamic Financial Institution, Best Investment Bank, Best Cash Management Bank, Best Trade-Finance providers, Best Supply Chain Finance providers, Best Foreign Exchange Provider, Best Private Bank, and Best SME Bank.         —Robert Daly

The editors of Global Finance, with input from industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts, selected the global winners for the World’s Best Banks 2024 using information provided by entrants as well as independent research based on objective and subjective factors.

Entries are not required, but experience shows that the information supplied in an entry can increase the chance of success. In many cases, entrants present details that may not be readily available to the editors.

Judges considered performance from January 1 to December 31, 2023. Global Finance applies a proprietary algorithm to shorten the list of contenders and arrive at a numerical score, with 100 signifying perfection. The algorithm weights a range of criteria for relative importance, including knowledge of the sector, market conditions and customer needs, financial strength and safety, strategic relationships and governance, capital investment and innovation, scope of global coverage, size and experience of staff, risk management, range of products and services and use of technology. The panel tends to favor private-sector banks over government-owned institutions.

The winners are those banks and providers that best serve the specialized needs of corporations engaged in global business.

In 2023, JPMorgan Chase not only managed to grow its business lines, maintain its fortress balance sheet and continue innovating, but also helped stabilize the US financial system. After last year’s collapse of First Republic Bank, the second-largest bank failure in US history, which followed the high-profile failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, JPMorgan stepped in to acquire a substantial majority of First Republic’s assets for $10.6 billion. The transaction netted JPMorgan approximately $173 billion in loans, $92 billion in deposits, and $30 billion in securities.

Outside that acquisition, the bank generated a net income of roughly $49.6 billion, up about 32% year-on-year, from revenue of approximately $158.1 billion, with solid performances from most business lines. Corporate & Investment Bank, rebranded as Commercial and Investment Bank in January 2024, contributed a net income of $14 billion from $49 billion in revenue. Its Consumer & Community Banking business added a substantial amount of retail branches and advisers and leads the First Republic integration. The Commercial Banking business more than doubled its new client relationships, while the Asset & Wealth Management business increased client assets under management to $5 trillion from $4 trillion the previous year.

JPMorgan also invested significantly in artificial intelligence and machine learning, identifying 400 instances where the technology can improve fraud detection. The bank also minted a Chief Data & Analytics Office,r who has a seat on its Operating Committee and approved adding four new data centers to its existing 32 facilities. Furthermore, the bank has increased its adoption of cloud computing by having 70% of its applications in the cloud, up from 50% in 2022, and 75% of its data stored in the cloud, up from 70% the previous year.   —Robert Daly

Chairman & CEO — Jamie Dimon

https://www.jpmorganchase.com

Despite the global economy dealing with rising inflation, trade conflicts and bank failures, BBVA returned as the World’s Best Corporate Bank award winner for a second year. The bank’s Corporate and Business Banking (CBB) unit contributed €2.25 billion ($2.48 billion) in net attributable profit, a 44.5% year-on-year increase. Geographically, its operations in Mexico and Turkey contributed the most (29% each), while its operations in Spain, South America and the rest of the business contributed 15%, 13% and 15%, respectively. Driving the growth was a 16% increase in net fees and commissions across all businesses.

CBB also saw its cross-border business grow by more than 30% in 2023, fueled by nearshoring operations in Mexico, the US and Asia. The cross-border activity represented over 35% of CBB’s activity for the year.

Wholesale banking cannot be discussed without mentioning sustainability, as the two are tightly intertwined at BBVA. The bank is known for developing inaugural and subsequent green and social bonds for the European and Latin American markets. However, BBVA has expanded its sustainable offerings and created a global unit providing financing for clean technology like hydrogen and biofuels, energy storage, mobility, and carbon-capture technologies; advisory services that evaluate and classify suppliers based on sustainable criteria and the staff’s specialized expertise; and consultation tools like carbon footprint calculators.   —RD

Global Head of Sustainability and Corporate & Investment Banking — Javier Rodríguez Soler

https://www.bbva.com/

Investing in high-growth banking sectors like consumer banking and taking a digital-first approach has paid off handsomely for Standard Chartered, the year’s winner of the World’s Best Consumer Bank award.

The bank’s Consumer, Private & Business Banking unit contributed $2.49 billion in pre-tax underlying profit while increasing its mass retail client base to 9.5 million clients, a million more than the previous year. At the same time, retail product income increased by 26%, and deposit income grew by 74%.

The bank’s digital strategy enables it to provide more personalized, relevant, real-time product offerings and sharpens its onboarding and engagement capabilities. As a result, the percentage of digital sales grew to 56%, up 8% from the previous year.

The bank continues working internally to grow its mass retailbusiness by scaling sustainability through partnerships, digital client engagements and automation. Standard Chartered has eight such mass retail partnerships in production across China, Indonesia and Singapore that serve more than 2.6 million clients. One such partnership is with Singapore’s all-digital Trust Bank, backed by Standard Chartered and grocery retailer FairPrice Group. Since its founding in September 2022, Trust Bank has grown to become the fourth-largest retail bank in the city-state, with a 12% market share, 700,000 clients, and $1.4 billion in deposits.   —RD

CEO, Wealth and Retail Banking — Judy Hsu

https://www.sc.com

Qatar National Bank (QNB) won the World’s Best Emerging Markets Bank award for its growth, digitalization efforts and expansion in emerging markets. In 2023, the bank grew its net profit by 8% to 15.5 billion Qatari riyals ($4.25 billion) while increasing its deposits by 2% to 857 billion riyals and loans by 853 billion riyals.

The bank, which operates in 28 countries on three continents, has taken a cross-pollination approach to digitalization by leveraging intellectual property and technology developed throughout its organization. A prime example is QNB’s digital bank, Enpara. Founded in Turkey in 2012 and recently gaining approval to become a deposit bank, it caters to small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) and retail clients. The experience in delivering products such as deposits, accounts, cards, facilities, transfers and payments helped develop and launch QNB Bebasata digital bank in Egypt, a subsidiary of QNB Alahli, in March 2023. Since going live, the new digital bank ended the year with 20,000 clients.

QNB is also awaiting approval from Saudi bank regulators to launch a digital-only bank in partnership with Ajlan & Bros Holding, targeting SME and consumer clientele. Meanwhile, the bank expanded its presence in Saudi Arabia by opening its second branch in Jeddah. It opened its first branch in the capital, Riyadh, in 2017.

Aside from technology, QNB aims to attract new deposits and grow its wealth management business in its Indonesian operations by offering new products, such as mutual funds, bancassurance and government bonds, which are offered in other markets under the QNB First luxury brand.       —RD

Group CEO — Abdulla Mubarak Al-Khalifa

https://www.qnb.com

Serving over 25 million corporate, commercial and consumer clients across 20 sub-Saharan countries, United Bank for Africa (UBA) has won the World’s Best Frontier Markets award for its service and performance in some of the fastest-growing markets worldwide.

Through its prudent lending approach, robust risk management, and geographic diversification, the bank nearly doubled its deposits to 17.36 trillion Nigerian naira ($10.82 billion) in 2023 from 8.99 trillion naira in 2022. Over the same period, it grew its loan book by 61% to 5.55 trillion naira. As a result, its pre-tax profits rose 277.2% to 757.7 billion naira.

UBA provides micro, small and midsize enterprise financing to approximately 32,000 SME clients, a 45% increase from the previous year. It also provides access to more than 1,000 branches, a network of 2,676 ATMs and roughly 300,000 point-of-sale machines.

To spur regional growth, the bank has pledged up to $6 billion in financing in partnership with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) over the next three years to empower SMEs across the continent. It was also one of six African banks that signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pan-African Payment Settlement System (PAPSS) to further growth in trade.

UBA has also implemented “smart automation,” such as robotic process automation and artificial intelligence, to reduce costs, improve productivity and minimize errors. Several more examples are in development.            —RD

Group Managing Director/CEO  — Oliver Alawuba

https://www.ubagroup.com

With deep resources and outstanding post-trade capabilities, CIBC Mellon is again recognized as the Best Sub-Custodian Bank award winner. In addition to custody, CIBC Mellon’s investment-servicing solutions also provide clients with multicurrency accounting, fund administration, recordkeeping, pension services, securities-lending services, foreign exchange settlement, and treasury services. Scale and automation are critical elements for a sub-custodian to deliver efficiency and security in the settlement process.

CIBC Mellon continues to refine its business model by leveraging the most advanced technology. As the product of a 50/50 joint venture between BNY Mellon’s and CIBC, significant resources are available that contribute to infrastructure and process enhancements for the automation and standardization of services.

One example is CIBC Mellon’s adoption of BNY’s Nexen digital information-delivery platform, which uses data analytics services to help clients by giving faster, real-time cash position and activity reporting through an improved interface for easier access from any mobile device. The firm continues to bring BNY’s technological advancements into global custody by using trade analytics to reduce the impact of trades that settle late. As millions of trades are settled each month, there are significant costs associated with late settlement. To help determine the probability of a trade settling late, CIBC Mellon uses a predictive AI engine, thus increasing market efficiency and cost savings for clients.

Leveraging data analytics is a priority. CIBC Mellon’s recently announced strategic collaboration with Duco, a leading software-as-a-service provider of AI-powered data automation, will contribute to lowering operational risk and streamlining processes for greater efficiency.   —David Sanders

CEO — Mal Cullen

https://www.cibcmellon.com/

Bank of America (BofA), our award winner as Best Bank for Transaction Banking and Best Bank for Collections, works closely with large global organizations that have accounts in multiple currencies, helping them to create liquidity strategies to optimize working capital and weather unpredictable market dynamics. According to Mark Monaco, head of Global Transaction Services, it involves bringing awareness of BofA’s existing solutions, built over the years, and then proactively advising clients on which ones address the various challenges they may face, such as forecasting, increasing costs, and the need to optimize return on cash. “Many corporates have limited experience dealing with uncertainty, especially when combined with very high interest rates, and are unsure how to plan or adjust,” says Monaco. “Some may lack the appropriate treasury management solutions or may not know how to maximize liquidity process efficiency.”

Higher interest rates make unplanned funding shortfalls more expensive, he adds. “These shortfalls are more likely if a company has not fully automated its processes. Resistance to making operational investments when interest rates are high results in many companies looking to cut costs and becoming hesitant to make substantial investments in treasury management solutions.”

As rates change, treasurers may be unsure about how to continue optimizing the value of cash balances and may fall back on “safe” approaches that may not be flexible enough to keep up with the changing economic environment.

Monaco says that in addition to rising rates, high inflation increases the cost of goods and services, eating into liquidity and cash reserves.

“Another factor impacting the delivery of treasury and cash management solutions is the rapidly changing regulatory environment,” adds Monaco. “Across the world, markets are facing new compliance obligations spurred by developments in real-time payments schemes, AML/KYC [anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer measures], cyber threats, sanctions compliance, and data sharing and localization. Companies and their partner banks are having to enhance and improve both infrastructure and processes as a result.”

BofA brought all payments activities under a new Global Payments Solutions division in recognition of the strategic importance of payments to the bank.     —Gilly Wright

Head of Global Transaction Services — Mark Monaco

https://www.bankofamerica.com

Societe Generale (SocGen) bolstered its reputation for sustainable finance innovation in November when it served as sole manager of the first digital green bond ever issued. The €10 million senior preferred unsecured bond was tokenized and directly registered by SG-Forge on the ethereum public blockchain. Blockchain, says SocGen, can potentially increase the traceability and transparency of ESG-related bonds for both issuers and investors.

SocGen also stands out for its reach and versatility. Last year, it was active in ESG projects on all six inhabited continents, including many parts of Africa, and it remains one of the few commercial banks that has ever issued green, social and sustainable bonds, according to Natixis.

In the project finance sphere, the bank was active on many fronts in 2023, including in October as sole debt financial adviser and mandated lead arranger on Automotive Energy Supply Corporation’s €873 million battery storage factory in France’s Battery Valley. Elsewhere, it helped finance offshore wind projects in Poland and South Korea; onshore renewables in Japan, Australia, Egypt and Vietnam; and critical materials projects in Mongolia and Africa.        —Andrew Singer

Global Head of Sustainable and Positive Impact Finance Solutions — Eric Bonnin

https://www.societegenerale.com/

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) earned its recognition as Best Islamic Financial Institution worldwide thanks to innovation in Islamic financing, a wide geographical footprint and strong operations. KFH is the second-largest Islamic bank globally, providing services to customers in the Middle East, Asia and Europe through extensive distribution channels. It has subsidiaries in Kuwait, Turkey, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Malaysia, the UK and Germany.

Last year was KFH’s first full year of integration following its 2022 acquisition of Ahli United Bank of Bahrain. Total assets stood at 37.87 billion Kuwaiti dinars at the end of 2023, as net profit jumped to 672 million dinars from 428 million dinars, for a return on average assets of 1.8%. The firm’s overall financial profile is solid, supported by good capitalization and liquidity. Its Islamic banking products and services cover commercial, retail and corporate banking as well as real estate, trade finance and investments.

During 2023, KFH launched Tam Digital Bank, Kuwait’s first Shariah-compliant digital bank. It was also at the forefront in launching several digital services, including detecting biometric facial features in branches, instant printing for all types of cards, its Zaheb digital platform and KFHonline for corporates, digital portfolios to facilitate e-payment and a D-POS device for instant opening of bank accounts.   —Darren Stubing

CEO — Abdulwahab Iesa Alrushood

https://www.kfh.com

With a highly skilled team of investment bankers, J.P. Morgan remains undeterred in the face of geopolitical turmoil to provide exceptional investment banking solutions. In 2023 when, according to Dealogic, global investment banking fees for the industry fell 16% to $66.5 billion, J.P. Morgan was able to retain its top position in global investment banking revenue, capturing an 8.7% revenue market share. Regionally, the bank retained the top spot in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In the Asia-Pacific region, apart from Japan, the bank rose to be top fee earner from the fourth position, year-over-year, with improved performance in Southeast Asia, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Australasia. This success is the result of a deep and talented team of bankers. J.P. Morgan recognizes the importance of developing its staff by rotating senior management to broaden their roles. The firm recently announced new and increased responsibilities for some key executives to position the investment bank for future success and growth. —DS

Co-CEOs, Commercial & Investment Bank — Jennifer Piepszak and Troy Rohrbaugh

https://www.jpmorgan.com/

Citi, our winner as Best Bank for Cash Management, recently combined Treasury and Trade Solutions and Securities Services under one umbrella. At the June Citi 2024 Services Investor Day, Shahmir Khaliq, head of Services, noted that “it made sense to bring these businesses together under one portfolio, as they have strong synergies across our entire institutional client base.”

“Our clients are looking for fully integrated solutions across the entire continuum of accept, hold, pay and finance as they look to scale quickly and globally,” added Debopama Sen, head of Payments at Citi, at the time. She added that acceptance capabilities are powered by Spring by Citi, an end-to-end digital payment acceptance solution. Hold capabilities include integrated liquidity and a banking-as-a-service offering that allows e-commerce clients to serve their merchants and seller customers. Payment solutions then enable clients to manage payouts globally, including navigation of cross-border complexities. And finally, Sen pointed out that for finance, Citi offers tailored offerings for e-commerce businesses, including the ability to offer flexible financing options and working capital management solutions.        —GW

Head of Services — Shamir Khaliq

https://www.citigroup.com/

With comprehensive trade outsourcing services, BNY Mellon is the bank of choice for other financial institutions looking to avoid high costs without losing trade finance customers. To limit compliance costs, for example, many financial institutions worldwide have restricted the number of Swift’s Relationship Management Application (RMA) exchanges they maintain with their correspondent banks. BNY Mellon developed RMA as a service to help banks route their Swift MT 700 letter of credit messages directly to the beneficiaries’ banks, using BNY Mellon as an intermediary bank for their letter of credit activity.

A multibank supply chain finance program that includes collaboration with fintechs ensures cash optimization for corporate buyers and supports the working capital needs of their suppliers.             —GW

Managing Director and Global Head, Trade Finance Product & Portfolio Group Manager — Joon Kim

https://www.bny.com

Present in over 90 countries, Citi’s supply chain finance (SCF) network supports over 4,000 buyers and 95,000 suppliers. In business for almost 20 years, Citi Supplier Finance’s offering includes digital platforms that streamline processes, seamless technical implementation that is adaptable to various enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and effortless electronic onboarding of suppliers. Recent additions include Citi Dynamic Discounting, which enables cash-rich clients to invest excess liquidity directly into their supply chain and provides liquidity to small and midsize suppliers to improve cash flow. Citi provides a single platform and file transmission for both SCF and dynamic discounting. For suppliers, Citi Supplier Finance offers an app that selects receivables to be discounted via mobile phone.     —GW

Managing Director, Head of Trade and Working Capital Solutions — Chris Cox

https://www.citigroup.com/

Last year was nothing short of historic for our Best Global Foreign Exchange Bank, UBS. Between the takeover of its longtime rival, Credit Suisse, in what analysts call the most important banking M&A in history, and the substantial growth of its foreign exchange (FX) operation in developing markets, the behemoth bank has done it all with unrivaled excellence.

The takeover of its rival’s operation led to substantial growth in clientele and traded volume in European markets, resulting in solid profitability growth. It also led to key additions to UBS’ FX team, further expanding the bank’s knowledge.

At the same time, UBS teams in Asia, the Middle East,and Latin America have kept working relentlessly to improve the bank’s digital offering for emerging market currencies.

As a result of this unmatched year, the Swiss-based giant now ranks as one of the largest private wealth managers in the world, with undisputed market share in Europe. It has also watched its emerging markets FX operation expand into one of the world’s largest, expanding the bank’s offerings to its clients worldwide.

Among the bank’s most significant global technological breakthroughs is UBS’ FX Engine Room, with which the bank can place all analytics in one place for use by its global sales force, thus broadening the footprint of its operations to clients looking to trade currencies on a global scale. —Thomas Monteiro

Group CEO — Sergio Ermotti

https://www.ubs.com

This year’s volatile macroeconomic backdrop did not phase our back-to-back award winner, J.P. Morgan. The global behemoth seized the opportunities that volatility afforded, posting phenomenal growth.

With an increasing focus on high-end clients, JPMorgan Chase’s wealth management division grew its net income an impressive 36% year-on-year (YoY) in the first quarter of 2023, 22% in the second, and 16% in the third. A key driver was JPMorgan Chase’s acquisition of failing First Republic Bank in May 2023, a move that calmed the threat of a deeper crisis in the US banking industry.

Moreover, J.P. Morgan Private Bank kept improving its offerings and global presence. This year, it opened a new US Family Office Practice and added to its teams in Asia and Latin America, while making changes in upper management in both regions.          —TM

CEO — David Frame

https://privatebank.jpmorgan.com

For the second year running, the Brazilian digital bank BTG Pactual Empresas has swept the Best SME Bank awards for Brazil, Latin America and the world. The bank has eased access to capital for micro, small, and midsize enterprises (MSMEs), representing approximately 90% of Brazilian companies.

Clients get a low-touch digital channel, available 24/7, that nevertheless provides a high-touch experience using open banking standards and Brazil’s PIX instant payment system. For example, BTG Pactual Empresas has shortened the time needed to obtain credit to about 30 minutes for clients participating in rural credit programs, solar-power and green financing, and women-owned businesses. Newly opened SME accounts are operable within an hour.

Once an SME account is open, account owners can export their banking data to standard spreadsheets, Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, instantly reconciling accounts in their ERP systems.

BTG Pactual Empresas provides such additional services as single-sign-on multiuser and multi-business accounts, online invoicing, collection management, budgeting capabilities, foreign currency exchange and digital receipts, along with payroll, insurance, and tax and investment services. Clients can reach expert support anytime via chat, email, WhatsApp and toll-free calling.             —RD

CEO — Roberto Sallouti

https://empresas.btgpactual.com

Global Finance: QNB Group had solid returns in 2023. How did the organization achieve this?

Abdulla Mubarak Al-Khalifa: In 2023, QNB Group delivered robust net profit of $4.3 billion, an increase of 8% over the previous year, and an operating income of $10.7 billion, an increase of 11%. As a result, QNB remains the largest bank in Middle East and Africa [MEA] and one of the world’s top 50 banks in terms of market capitalization, reaching $41.9 billion. It is QNB’s vision and strategy to be one of the leading banks in MEA. Our strategy is comprised of three elements: a focus on our core of being an international wholesale bank, while leveraging innovation as a strategic enabler and embedding sustainability into our business and operating model.

GF: How does QNB differentiate itself from its competitors?

Al-Khalifa: To successfully compete against our competitors, we rely on a winning value proposition of our strong ratings, relationships and brand value as well as our international network. S&P [A+], Moody’s [Aa3] and Fitch [A+] recognize us as one of the highest-rated banks in MEA. We have built strong relationships with the government and private-sector companies across our network, including our subsidiaries in Turkey and Egypt. We continue to grow our brand value, which currently stands at $8.4 billion, and have maintained our status as MEA’s most valuable banking brand. Finally, with a network that spans across 28 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe, we are one of the few banks with a strong rating that can operate as a full-service financial institution across a range of hard-to-access frontier and emerging markets.

GF: What are the latest milestones QNB has reached on its digital transformation journey?

Al-Khalifa: As part of our strategy, we are embedding the topic of digital transformation into our business and operating model. Our value proposition is supported by cutting-edge digital technology and innovation delivered with a human touch to maintain the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Our QNB digital 3.0 program focuses on investing in our IT capabilities to enable digitization through the adoption of new technologies within our IT architecture and infrastructure. Digitization helps to drive efficiency and automation through robotics, AI, machine learning and an ongoing streamlining of our processes. Last but not least, we are striving to leverage the latest technology to optimize our channels and network to adjust to new customer expectations and behaviors.

GF: Sustainability is one of the most important topics across industries. How does QNB support it?

Al-Khalifa: Banks play an important role in contributing to financial stability and economic growth. As the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, we recognize the importance of ESG and have consequently embedded the topic of sustainability in our purpose and strategy. Sustainability is the delivery of long-term value in terms of financial, environmental, social and governance. QNB’s purpose is to promote prosperity and sustainable growth across the markets we serve. Our strategy therefore fully integrates the E, S and G across our business and operating model.

GF: Where do you expect growth regarding business lines, sectors or geographies in the coming year?Al-Khalifa: Domestically, in Corporate Banking, the multibillion-dollar North Field Expansion project is a major opportunity for us to continue to support Qatar’s development in the coming years. We are actively supporting initiatives across the value chain, ranging from wells, pipelines, LNG storage tanks and new LNG tankers, all the way through to the expansion of Qatar’s refining and downstream capacity. Internationally, one of the key markets that presents a big growth potential for us is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We developed a dedicated strategy for our presence in the country and also opened a second branch in Jeddah. Furthermore, we see significant growth potential in our international branches in London, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong. These financial centers allow us to capture market share for trade and investment flows with global and multinational corporate customers to fuel our growth.

Global Finance: How did BBVA’s corporate banking business achieve such a strong year?

Javier Rodríguez Soler: Indeed, BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking had a great 2023, with annual revenue of €4.8 billion [$5.3 billion], and just in the first half of 2024, we generated revenue of €2,872 million, up by 23% on 2023. We devise our strategy based on globality—with a focus on geographical diversification, the opportunities derived from nearshoring and the increased relevance of business with institutional clients—and sustainability, which is a strategic priority at BBVA in all its business lines.

Combining growth and sustainability is one of our mantras. I am a true believer that it is possible to grow and decarbonize at the same time, and BBVA is a living proof of this.

In a business environment that demands the transition to more sustainable production models and adherence to global regulatory requirements that set the standard in terms of ESG, sustainability emerges as a key element to face a volatile world influenced by global events. That’s why we have implemented a sector-related advisory model to proactively address transition opportunities. It’s a model that reaches the whole organization—all our geographies, all our bankers and all our business products.

GF: Where do you see growth in the coming year?

Soler: For us, growth will come mainly through three levers: our advisory services, the big bets we have been working on over the past few years, and our investments in equity funds.

In terms of advisory, we have two relevant lines of work. First, we have sector strategies for corporate clients and plans in the most emission-intensive sectors to define a commercial strategy with our clients to finance the transformation to low-carbon technologies and to accompany them in their transition plans. We also offer advisory on specific solutions and cost-cutting issues such as energy efficiency for business clients, leveraging specialized teams that develop data-driven solutions and tools.

Second, we keep working on plans and specific initiatives to strengthen our long-term competitive position with existing businesses by leveraging our digital capabilities and advisory; leveraging sustainability capabilities to grow in new markets with a niche strategy; and developing new business to respond to sustainable transformation needs. 

Last but not least, our investment in top-tier capital climate funds is critical to our success in this journey. We have already invested more than €100 million in cleantech projects through six fund managers, who in turn have invested in over 160 companies.

GF: How do you expect corporate banking will change in the next few years?

Soler: One of the main changes will come from data and artificial intelligence, and its environmental impact should be a concern. Large language models are indeed very power-hungry. That is why we are looking into a new generation of models that achieve comparable performance with fewer parameters, significantly reducing energy consumption.

One of our primary strategies at BBVA is adhering to the principle of data minimization when building AI models. By using the data that is absolutely necessary, we create smaller, more efficient models that require less computational power—and consequently, less energy.

GF: Are there any business issues that keep you up at night?

Soler: What I see is that supervisors in different industries, and in particular the banking industry, as well as the politicians in the different geographies where we operate may not be moving at the same pace as we are at BBVA in terms of understanding the relevance of sustainability and decarbonization and where the world is heading with the development of new technologies. 

The role of governments in creating an enabling environment for decarbonization is crucial. In my opinion, a new industrial policy is key. It also needs to ensure relevant and adequate incentive schemes and facilitate faster permits with less bureaucracy, as some countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark have already done with a one-stop shop for relevant investment projects.

Global Finance: How does CIBC Mellon distinguish itself from the competition?

Mal Cullen: At CIBC Mellon, we pride ourselves on a relentless focus on client service, innovative technology and operational excellence. Our unique position as a Canadian leader backed by the global strength of BNY allows us to offer our clients a combination of local expertise and global capabilities.

We emphasize building deep, trusted relationships with our clients, understanding their specific needs and delivering tailored solutions. Our commitment to continuous improvement, agility and staying ahead of industry trends enables us to provide exceptional value and maintain our competitive edge. 

Receiving the title of best sub-custodian in the world for the third year in a row is a remarkable achievement that highlights our unwavering commitment to our clients. Canada continues to be a vibrant and resilient market, and this accolade underscores our role in supporting the country’s financial ecosystem. Our devotion to excellence in asset servicing has always been our driving force, and this recognition highlights our efforts in fostering trust and stability in the Canadian financial sector.

GF: Where are you seeing innovation in this space?

Cullen: Innovation in the sub-custody space is largely driven by the rapid advancements in technology and the growing power of data analytics. We are witnessing transformative progress in areas such as automation and artificial intelligence. These technologies are revolutionizing how transactions are managed and processed, allowing for greater efficiency, accuracy and speed. We are actively investing in these cutting-edge technologies to elevate our service offerings, streamline our operations and deliver real-time insights and efficiencies to our clients. This commitment to innovation ensures that we can deliver top service for our clients in an increasingly complex market.

Innovation extends beyond technology; it is also evident in our collaborative efforts with fintechs and industry peers. Through these strategic partnerships, we are developing and deploying new solutions and capabilities that are reshaping the sub-custody landscape.

GF: What impact has artificial intelligence (AI) had on sub-custody offerings?

Cullen: The integration of AI into sub-custody services has been nothing short of transformative. By harnessing the power of AI, firms are now able to deliver more sophisticated predictive analytics, significantly bolster risk-management frameworks, and drive substantial gains in operational efficiency. AI’s ability to process and analyze vast quantities of data with unparalleled speed and precision allows institutions to identify patterns and anticipate potential challenges long before they materialize. This not only enhances the quality of decision making but also results in superior outcomes for clients. AI-driven tools are redefining the level of personalization available within sub-custody offerings.

GF: How will sub-custody change in the coming years?

Cullen: The sub-custody industry is poised for significant transformation in the coming years. We expect to see increased adoption of digital assets, which will revolutionize the way securities are issued, traded and settled. There will be a greater emphasis on transparency, security and real-time processing. Additionally, regulatory changes and the shift toward shorter settlement cycles, such as T+1, will require the industry to be more agile and responsive. At CIBC Mellon, we are committed to staying at the forefront of these changes, ensuring that we continue to provide our clients with cutting-edge solutions and services.

GF: What keeps you up at night?

Cullen: Cybersecurity is a constant and evolving concern, particularly as cyber threats grow in sophistication and persistence. CIBC Mellon has and will continue to take actions to sustain the high-quality service, stability and flexibility clients have come to expect of us. As a trusted safeguard of more than $2.9 trillion of assets held on behalf of banks, pension plans, investment funds, corporations and other institutional investors, we recognize the importance of our resilience to our clients. Our commitment to staying ahead of cybersecurity threats is underpinned by continuous investments in state-of-the-art security technologies, enhanced threat-detection capabilities, and a proactive approach to risk management. However, our strength in this area is amplified by the support of our parent organizations, CIBC and BNY—both of which place a high premium on a risk-management culture. CIBC Mellon’s cybersecurity strategy benefits from the considerable focus, investment and resources of CIBC in Canada and BNY globally, ensuring that we are well positioned to protect our clients in Canada.  

The move reportedly came the day after a board meeting at which Schneider was asked to step down.

“[This] is another sign that this is not a planned transition,” Bruno Monteyne, managing director and senior analyst with research firm Bernstein, told Reuters. “It is clearly not his choice either, or he probably would have managed a smoother transition.”

During his eight-year tenure, Schneider pivoted the company toward high-growth products such as coffee, pet care, and nutritional health products, while exiting slower-growth sectors. He also committed to halving the company’s carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

Weak sales growth has dogged the company, however. In its half-year results released in July, Nestlé noted a real internal growth rate of 2.2% for the second quarter and just 0.1% for the entire first half on underlying trading operating profit of 7.8 billion Swiss francs (approximately $9.2 billion). As a result, the company downshifted its organic sales growth outlook for the year from 4% to 3%.

The board decided that changes needed to be made and turned internally for new leadership.

Freixe had served as executive vice president and CEO Zone Latin America since 2022, when Nestlé adopted an updated geographic zone structure; prior to that, he was CEO of Zone Americas for eight years. He has been a member of the executive board since 2008. “I have known Laurent for a long time and highly regard him as a talented leader with strategic acumen, extensive in-market experience and expertise, as well as a deep understanding of markets and consumers,” says Paul Bulcke, Nestlé chair and Schneider’s immediate predecessor. “He has demonstrated his ability to deliver results in challenging market conditions. Laurent’s curiosity fuels his passion for innovation and positive change. Laurent is the perfect fit for Nestlé at this time.”