HSBC tops world banks in Banker survey
Thursday, 18 September 2008
FE Report
HSBC has become first in a Banker Magazine survey of the world's top 1,000 banks. HSBC took the crown following nine years of US domination and jumped two places from its third position last year. It also came top in the Western Europe category.
Following HSBC, in the top five were Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan Chase and last year's winner, Bank of America.
HSBC leads the rankings by virtue of its Tier One capital of US$ 105 billion, some US$ 17 billion ahead of its nearest rival, and its bumper profits.
The survey found that US banks now account for just 14 per cent of aggregate top 1,000 pretax profits, down from 24 per cent last year. Asian banks, meanwhile, have risen to 19 per cent from 12 per cent a year ago. European banks stayed steady at 41 per cent.
In April, HSBC group headed Forbes Magazine's 2000 list of the world's largest companies - the first non-US company to lead the rankings.
Tier One capital is often used to determine the strength of a financial institution. The current credit crunch has seen falls in the tier one capital of many banks. While HSBC has undoubtedly been affected by global economic conditions, it was one of the first to put measures into place to deal with any fallout.
HSBC has become first in a Banker Magazine survey of the world's top 1,000 banks. HSBC took the crown following nine years of US domination and jumped two places from its third position last year. It also came top in the Western Europe category.
Following HSBC, in the top five were Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan Chase and last year's winner, Bank of America.
HSBC leads the rankings by virtue of its Tier One capital of US$ 105 billion, some US$ 17 billion ahead of its nearest rival, and its bumper profits.
The survey found that US banks now account for just 14 per cent of aggregate top 1,000 pretax profits, down from 24 per cent last year. Asian banks, meanwhile, have risen to 19 per cent from 12 per cent a year ago. European banks stayed steady at 41 per cent.
In April, HSBC group headed Forbes Magazine's 2000 list of the world's largest companies - the first non-US company to lead the rankings.
Tier One capital is often used to determine the strength of a financial institution. The current credit crunch has seen falls in the tier one capital of many banks. While HSBC has undoubtedly been affected by global economic conditions, it was one of the first to put measures into place to deal with any fallout.