Banks can get wealthy in a number of ways:
- Banks generate revenue by lending money to people and businesses and then charging interest on those loans. They will make more money if they charge a higher interest rate.
- By collecting fees: Charges for services including account upkeep, ATM use, and credit card transactions are another way that banks generate revenue.
- By making financial investments: Banks can increase their profits by purchasing securities like stocks, bonds, and real estate.
- By providing financial services: Banks are able to generate income by offering both private and commercial clients investment guidance, wealth management, and foreign exchange services.
- By making money from their own business activities: Banks can also profit by making money from their own business activities, such as the selling of goods or the provision of consultancy services.
Overall, by producing income from a number of sources and properly controlling their expenses, banks can grow wealthy.
There are different ways of ranking banks, and depending on which specific aspect is being chosen, you can get different results. In general, people talk about assets when choosing which is the richest or wealthiest company or person both in banks and in other sectors. In the case of banks, the one with the highest total assets which is therefor the richest bank in the world is The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which in 2019 reported total assets of US$4324 billion.
Ranking the top 10 wealthiest banks in the world by assets shows that China occupies the top four spots, followed by USA and France each with two. Also in the list of top 10 richest banks in the world are UK and Japan with one each.
Although the Chinese banks lead the pack in terms of ranking, their activities as tightly controlled and are restricted to business activities inside the Chinese economic sphere. It is more generally accepted that the most powerful bank in the world is the largest bank in the world in terms of global activity, and that would be US bank JPMorgan Chase.
The top 10 biggest banks in the world together control more than US$28 trillion in assets, which is more than the total controlled by the next 20 combined
To answer the question of which are the strongest banks, you need to look not just at the total assets, but also at things like net assets, which is the actual value of assets less outstanding debt, and also at revenue and profits. In this case, banks like HSBC, Bank of America and Wells Fargo could be ranked as the strongest banks in the world.
List of TOP richest banks in the world
1. JPMorgan Chase, 390.934 Billion
2. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, 345.214 Billion
3. Bank of America, 325.331 Billion
4. Wells Fargo, 308.013 Billion
5. China Construction Bank, 257.399 Billion
6. HSBC Holdings PLC, 219.270 Billion
7. Agricultural Bank of China, 203.244 Billion
8. Citigroup Inc., 203.165 Billion
9. Bank of China, 181.469 Billion
10. China Merchants Bank, 122.616 Billion
FAQs
Which banks are the biggest in the world in terms of total assets?
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs are a few of the biggest banks in the world based on total assets.
How is the wealth of a bank determined?
Total assets, market capitalization, and net income are only a few measures to gauge a bank’s riches.
Are the wealthiest banks necessarily the biggest ones?
No, not always. Total assets, which are a measure of a bank’s size, may not always indicate wealth or financial soundness. The entire wealth of a bank is also influenced by other elements like profitability and financial stability.
How are the biggest banks made wealthy?
By receiving deposits from clients and using those monies to fund loans or make investments in financial assets, banks create money. Additionally, they get money through fees and other sources including trading and investment banking operations.
Do the biggest banks control the world’s banking sector?
In the global banking sector, the biggest banks do have a substantial footprint, but there are numerous more banks of various sizes that also play significant roles.
