Chinese president Xi Jinping with his United States counterpart Donald Trump
by YAO YUANHUI in Guangzhou, CHINA & SAVIOUS KWINIKA in Johannesburg, South Africa
GUANGZHOU, (CAJ News) – CHINESE banks are now officially the biggest in the world, putting the Asian nation on course to be the biggest economy on the globe.
According to latest findings released by Matt McIntyre, a global digital content creator and certified marketing strategist, Chinese banks occupy the top four places.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corporation, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China, in that order, occupy the top spots.
Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is now the fifth largest globally.
Japan is rated the third-largest economy in the world.
The highest ranked bank from the United States, a country that was seen as the world’s biggest economy before the latest rankings and the advent of the deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, is the JPMorgan Chase & Co, which is on sixth position.
British bank, HSBC Holdings PLC and Fernch BNP Parabis are seventh and eighth respectively.
The Bank of America (BAC) is ranked ninth while the Crédit Agricole Group of France completes the global top ten.
Commenting on the correlation between the banks’ rankings and the size of the respective countries’ economies, Matt McIntyre stated, “It’s an interesting question, and the answer will differ for everyone, however, generally speaking, the larger the bank, the larger its capabilities and offerings.”
“It’s not true for all the banks on our list, but generally, most of these banks offer something for everyone and can assist you with all your personal and commercial financial interests.”
The rankings coincide with the raging COVID-19, which is projected to have disastrous implications for the world economy.
While it was first detected in China at the end of last year, the US is now the epicentre of the crisis.
The two countries have in recent years also been involved in a trade spat, linked to their economic rivalry.
Below is the breakdown of these global financial institutions’ ratings and total assets.
1. Industrial & Commercial Bank Of China (CHINA):
Total Assets: $4,2 trillion
The world’s biggest bank is Industrial & Commerical Bank of China, which is also the largest bank in China and the biggest of China’s “Big Four”.
By the total number of assets, customers, employees, loans and deposits; ICBC, as it’s often referred to, completely dominates the rest of the biggest banks in the world.
The state-owned bank was founded in 1984 as a limited company and has grown to be the largest public company in the world by its sheer number of assets.
It is headquartered in Beijing, China, and employs 460 000 people across branches in Asia, Europe, America and Oceania.
The 70 percent government-owned company ranked number one overall in “The Bankers Top 1 000 World Banks ranking” and first on the Forbes Global 2000 of the world’s biggest public companies.
2. China Construction Bank Corporation (CHINA):
Total Assets: $3,3 trillion
The second-biggest bank in the world is China Construction Bank Corporation.
The third of the “Big Four” on our list, CCB, as it’s often abbreviated too; has 13 629 domestic branches and has overseas branches in Frankfurt, Barcelona, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, New York, Seoul and several other major cities.
Headquartered in the Xicheng district, Beijing, CCB employs over 333 000 people and offers both corporate banking and personal banking.
Examples of what they offer on the personal side are credit cards, personal loans, deposits and wealth management.
Whereas the commercial side offers, credit, company e-banking, loans, commercial loans and credit lines.
3. Agricultural Bank of China (CHINA):
Total Assets: $3,2 trillion
The next of the “Big Four” banks of China, AgBank, as it is also known, is the third biggest bank in the world and one of the ten largest companies on the planet.
Founded in 1951, Agbank has branches in Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, New York, London and many more in the world biggest cities.
Headquartered in Beijing, it employs over 444 000 people and is owned entirely by the state.
It has 320 million retail customers and 2,7 million corporate clients around the world; which are taken care of from one of its 24 000 branches.
In 2010, AgBank went public, achieving the world’s biggest ever IPO at the time, which has since been beaten by Alibaba.
4. Bank of China (CHINA):
Total Assets: $3 trillion
The next Asian bank on our list and the first of the “Big Four”, is the Bank of China.
It is one of the four biggest state-owned commercial banks in China and was founded in 1912 by the republican government, and is now considered to be the oldest bank in mainland China.
It is headquartered in Bejing, China and employs approximately 310 000 people, with offices in over twenty countries.
The bank offers investment banking, insurance and investing services, personal loans, credit cards, mortgages and asset and liability management.
Approximately 70 percent of the company is owned by the Chinese Government.
5. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (JAPAN):
Total Assets: $2,81 trillion
It is Japans largest bank holding financial group.
It is one of the main companies of the Mitsubishi Corporation and offers its customer a variety of services including, commercial banking, asset management, trust banking and international finance.
The bank was created in 2005 after a merger between two of Japans Largest banks, the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group and UFJ holdings.
It is currently headquartered in Osaka city and employs over 106 000 people.
6. JPMorgan Chase & Co (UNITED STATES):
Total Assets: $2,62 trillion
Financial services holding company and multinational investment bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co is the biggest bank in America and the sixth-largest in the world.
Providing products to its clients in over 100 countries, the bank is involved with asset management, investment services, wealth management and securities.
JPMorgan Chase & Co was the result of several large banks merging together in 2000 and is now one of the most expensive companies in the world.
Headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, JPMorgan Chase & Co is now also one of the largest investment companies in the world.
For retail and credit card purposes, the bank operates under the name “Chase”.
7. HSBC Holdings PLC (ENGLAND):
Total Assets: $2,55 trillion
HSCB Holdings PLC is a British multinational investment bank and financial holdings company.
By 2018, it was considered to be the seventh-largest bank in the world and the largest in Europe.
The bank has more than one thousand locations and eighty offices in the UK, and 460 throughout the United States.
With over 4 million customers worldwide, HSBC offers private banking, corporate finance and retail and commercial banking to its customers.
It is headquartered in London, England and currently employs over 235 000 people.
HSBC can be found in roughly 65 countries around the globe and is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
8. BNP Parabis (FRANCE):
Total Assets: $2,33 trillion
Next on the list is BNP Parabis, which is a French international banking group.
It is currently the world’s eighth-largest bank by its total number of assets and can be found operating in seventy-seven countries.
The bank was formed through a merger in 2000, between Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas.
Its origins date back as far as 1848 when it is believed the bank was first founded.
Headquartered in Paris, France, BNP Parabis employs over 190 000 people and receives the majority of its annual revenue from everyday client accounts.
9. Bank of America (BAC) (UNITED STATES):
Total Assets: $2,35 trillion
Bank of America is the second-biggest banking institution in America, with assets totalling $2.35 trillion dollars.
It serves approximately 10,73 percent of all American bank deposits and primarily deals with commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking.
Founded in 1784, and headquartered in Charlotte City, North Carolina, Bank of America now serves clients all over the world and from its 5 000 financial retail centres.
Bank of America is also one of the largest companies in the United States, employing over 208,000 people. In 2008, it acquired Merrill Lynch, making it the world’s largest wealth manager.
10. Crédit Agricole Group (FRANCE):
Total Assets: $2.13 Trillion
The French-owned bank is one of the largest companies in France.
It is the world’s largest co-operative financial institution, and in 1990, became an international full-service banking group.
This consisted of thirty-nine Crédit Agricole regional banks and a vast network of local banks.
It is headquartered in Montrouge and serves a variety of customers around the world.
The bank controls a significantly large part of the French banking system and is known for its working historical ties within the farming industry.
– CAJ News