One of the worst performing sector in the current bear market is the financial sector. Many bank stocks are down over 50% or more. The financials in the S&P 500 Index is down 56.3% year-to-date. On the international level, many well known banks have had to raise capital to stay in business.Others have been gobbled up by their competitors.

In this scenario, The Banker magazine presented its Ninth Bank of the Year Awards for 2008.

While now is not the best time to jump into some of these beaten-down financials, it is prudent to watch this sector and monitor developments.

The Banker Magazine selected The Best Banks of the world 2008 based on many criteria including:

• Questionnaires Submitted by 740 banks from 150 countries
• Latest Earnings Results
• Growth Rates
• Performance data over the period contained in the Questionnaire
• Other factors like Technology, Acquisitions and Key Strategic Developments

As per the magazine, these winners “are the cream of the global banking community
and the highest achievers in the industry.”

In this post I have listed the Winners at the global level. The table below includes tickers if the bank is traded in the USA.

The Best Banks of the World 2008

[TABLE=127]

Overview:
1.BNP Paribas of France won both the Global Bank of the Year and the award for best bank in Western Europe. BNP Paribas trades on the OTC market with ticker
BNPQY.

BNP Paribas was the 3rd largest in the world and the largest in Eurozone based on assets held as of April 30 this year.(Source: The Banker) BNP is a member of France’s main stock market Index the CAC 40.BNPQy has a yield of 10.04%.

2.Spain-based Banco Santander (STD) won the award for Latin America because the bank has a huge presence in Latin American countries.Santander was part of the consortium that acquired ABN Amro of The Netherlands last year.In October, Santander acquired the remaining 75.65% of Sovereign Bancorp in USA it did not already own. The current dividend yield is 8.50%.

3.Citibank(C) was rescued by the U.S. government by pumping billions of dollars last month after the bank was on the verge of collapse.After reaching an all-time low of $3.05, Citi’s stock has rebounded to close $7.71 yesterday. According to the deal agreed with the government, Citi cannot pay more than $0.01 in quarterly dividends for the next 3 years
without prior approval.

4.New York-based Bank of New York Mellon(BK),was formed after the merger of The Bank of New York Company, Inc. and Mellon Financial Corporation of Pittsburgh.In the last 52 weeks, the stock is down 39%. BK pays a dividend of 3.19%.

5.The Brazilian bank Banco Bradesco(BBD) won the award in the Environmental, Social and Governance category. Bradesco is one of the large private-sector banks in
Brazil.BBD is a component of the Bovespa Index. Similar to its peer Banco Itau (ITU), BBD is down about 57% in the last 52 weeks.