S&P Global Market Intelligence Unveils its Inaugural European Bank Ranking revealing Hungary's OTP Bank as the top performer

Central European Banks Performance - Elevated interest spreads and strong non-interest income performance drove profitability at three Central European banks, placing them at the top of the performance ranking [1] - Hungary's OTP Bank was ranked as Europe's top-performing bank in 2023, driven by strong lending margins due to higher interest rates [6] - Poland's PKO Bank Polski and Bank Polska Opieki ranked second and third, respectively, benefiting from higher interest rates [6] French Banks Underperformance - France's three largest banks, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, and Société Générale, occupied the bottom three positions in the ranking [4] - Structural issues and regulated savings accounts requiring minimum interest rate payments limited the benefits French banks could derive from higher European Central Bank interest rates [4] European Bank Ranking Methodology - S&P Global Market Intelligence ranked Europe's 50 largest publicly traded banks by assets using seven weighted financial metrics, including return on average equity, net interest margin, and cost-to-income ratio [5] Impact of Central Bank Interest Rates - Banks across Europe benefited from higher central bank interest rates in 2023, aimed at combating high inflation [7] - Hungary's policy interest rate was 13%, and Poland's was 6.75% for much of 2023, enabling banks in these markets to increase earning-asset yields more quickly than funding costs [7] - OTP Bank, PKO Bank Polski, and Bank Pekao had the highest year-end net interest margins among major European lenders at 3.92%, 4.12%, and 4.13%, respectively [7]