Beijing tops the ranking of the world’s most profitable international financial centres (IFCs) by bank pre-tax profits, which stand at $207.7bn, according to the latest yearly financial statements analysed by The Banker Database. The figure is almost one-fifth higher than previously recorded, and almost three times the amount scored by New York, in second place with $73bn.
London, traditionally a contender as global top IFC with New York, made it only to fifth position in the bank profits list, with $35.6bn. London-based banks, which include HSBC and Lloyds, but not loss-making Royal Bank of Scotland headquartered in Edinburgh, have not improved enough to overtake Paris or Tokyo, which are in fourth and third place with $38.6bn and $46.9bn, respectively. Paris-based banks generated pre-tax profits more than 50% higher than the previous financial year.
Among the top 50 list, three financial centres moved from aggregate losses to profits: Madrid in 16th place, Athens in 37th and Brussels in 43rd. In absolute terms, Madrid’s banking sector is the second most improved after Beijing’s. Banks headquartered in the Spanish capital moved from total losses of $7.85bn recorded at the end of 2012, to a $11.7bn aggregate pre-tax profit in the latest financial year – a $19.6bn jump. China’s top IFC expanded its total bank profits by about $33.5bn.
China’s other financial hub, Shanghai, sits in eighth place with $24.7bn, a 16% growth from the previous records. The third highest scoring IFC from an emerging market is São Paulo, in 10th position with $19.8bn – slightly down from the year before, reflecting Brazil’s economic struggles.
