Chinese lenders continue to dominate the upper-reaches of The Banker’s list of the world’s 1000 top banks.
All four of the uppermost spots on The Banker’s 2019 list of the world’s 1000 top banks were taken by Chinese lenders, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) nabbing first place, followed by China Construction Bank (CCB), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) and Bank of China (BOC).
The World’s Top Ten Banks According to The Banker’s 2019 Top 1000 List
Ranking | Last Year’s Position | Bank | Country | Tier 1 Capital (USD billion) |
1 | 1 | ICBC | China | 338 |
2 | 2 | China Construction Bank | China | 287 |
3 | 4 | Agricultural Bank of China | China | 243 |
4 | 3 | Bank of China | China | 230 |
5 | 5 | JPMorgan Chase | US | 209 |
6 | 6 | Bank of America | US | 189 |
7 | 7 | Wells Fargo | US | 168 |
8 | 8 | Citigroup | US | 158 |
9 | 10 | HSBC | UK | 147 |
10 | 9 | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group | Japan | 146 |
During the past decade the assets of Chinese banks have seen a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.76%, as compared to a figure of 2.74% for US banks.
US banks have far surpassed their Chinese peers with regard to pre-tax profit, posting CAGR of 23.74% over 2010 to 2019, as compared to 13.24% for China across the same period.
China ranks first in terms of total profits of banks on the top 1000 list, exceeding the US by nearly 25%.
Top five countries in terms of total profits of top 1000 banks in 2019
Country | Number of banks on top 1000 list | Pre-tax profits (USD billion) |
China | 136 | 312 |
USA | 169 | 255 |
Canada | 11 | 47 |
France | 6 | 44 |
UK | 25 | 43 |