Studies come up with different lists for the top 10 banks in the world, depending on whether they use assets, revenue, market capitalization, size of customer base or any one of the many other reference points that can measure the relative sizes . As a result, these usually come up with different results. As well, some banks use reporting methods that have to conform with their own countries’ regulations.

 

To rank the top 10 banks in the world by assets, analysts usually measure the bank’s net asset value, which means deducting outstanding debt and borrowing from the assets owned. In this method the top 10 banks in the world are led by four Chinese banks, followed by two from France and the USA, with only one each in UK and Japan. If you exclude the Chinese banks, which are not typical in the sense of ownership or scope of service, then the list comprises four from USA, 3 from Japan, two from France and one from the UK.

List of TOP Banks in the world

1. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China
2. China Construction Bank, China
3. Agricultural Bank of China, China
4. Bank of China, China
5. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan
6. HSBC, UK
7. JPMorgan Chase, USA
8. Bank of America, USA
9. BNP Paribas, France
10. Crédit Agricole, France

11. Japan Post Bank, Japan
12. SMBC Group, Japan
13. Citigroup Inc., USA
14. Wells Fargo, USA
15. Mizuho Financial Group, Japan
16. Banco Santander, Spain
17. Société Générale, France
18. Barclays, UK
19. Groupe BPCE, France
20. Postal Savings

Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were indications that the world economy was going to grow by around 2.5%, and banks generally would be growing at that rate or slightly faster. However, the drastic effects of the pandemic have made it extremely unlikely that there will be any growth at all, and have also made it very difficult to predict which banks will survive the downgrading better than others. In general trying to predict which will be the top 10 banks in the world 2021 is risky. Most likely, the banks that will be least affected are the ones based in the countries that have weathered the storm best, such as Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and Japan. In the rest of the world, US and European banks have been about equally affected, and there is no way of actually knowing what has been happening in China.

 

In one of the best analyses of the likely outcome of the pandemic on the top 10 banks in the world, Forbes analysis Anton Guera has written a comprehensive report. His bottom line is that “Potential threats to all banks on the Forbes Global 2000 come from the looming crunch in business activity and spiking distress worldwide.”

 

Listing the top 10 banks in the world by profit demonstrates how much the selection criteria can affect the result. Whereas listing by assets gives four Chinese banks at the top, listing by profit produces a very different result, with the USA producing more than half of the total, followed by 3 in China and just one other in Russia.

 

Want to know more about the richest banks in the world? Click HERE

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