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Our annual ranking of the World Best Banks coincides every year with the release of year-end statements for most of these banks. This year, those annual reports delivered some surprising results, particularly in advanced economies: In an otherwise very tough year for the world economy, the banks did relatively well for themselves and their shareholders. The exceptions are few and in most cases the result of unique problems or scandals. The analysts and economists, it turns out, were too pessimistic.
The reasons for the banking sector’s general good news are several: intense capital markets activity, tied to low interest rates worldwide, and particularly robust M&A; government support through the pandemic to ensure the banks continued lending to prop up business; their role as pass-throughs for support that central banks provide national economies. These features of the year 2020 ended up benefiting financial institutions.