Although the overall asset base in the Top 1000 ranking is shrinking, capital adequacy improved for the second year in a row. Tier 1 capital also declined in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Japan and western Europe, but in most of these instances the decline in assets outpaced it.
Western Europe is unable to hold onto 2018’s good run and saw its average capital assets ratio (CAR) contract slightly to 5.45%. The region’s assets went down by 3.3% in 2018 and Tier 1 capital by 4.1%.
