Seventeen out of 26 foreign banks rated Standard Bank as the top retail bank in South Africa, it emerged from a survey undertaken by Price Waterhouse.
According to the survey, contained in Price Waterhouse's recently published "Foreign Banking in South Africa", Standard Bank was followed by Nedbank, with Absa in third place and First National Bank ranked fourth. Standard Bank attracted 68 points compared to Nedbank's 30 points.
The foreign banks were asked to rank both foreign and domestic banks in a number of different categories, including corporate banking and funds management.
In the category of funds management, Investec ranked most highly, with 43 points, followed again by Standard Bank, with 20 points. Rand Merchant Bank was rated third, with 19 points.
Price Waterhouse's report covered a number of areas, based on interviews with managing directors and senior executives of 31 foreign banks.
The foreign banks mostly agreed that finding good personnel was the most difficult aspect of the banking industry in South Africa and that salary packages have become a critical issue.