As was the case in 2013 Top 1000 World Banks ranking, when it comes to returns on assets, African banks are the stellar performers.

Loan-to-deposit ratios among the global regions have generally fallen, though central and eastern Europe has risen from 107.61% to 112.79% in the 2014 Top 1000 World Bank rankings.

HSBC holds on to the top position in western Europe, while the aftermath of the eurozone crisis shapes much of the rest of the list.

Despite increasing profits, the performance of Japan's banks continues to suffer across most metrics. 

The Asia-Pacific (excluding China and Japan) region is once again led by Australian institutions, although this year's rankings underscore the strength of the region as a whole, with a high number of new entrants in each category. 

Gulf lenders continue to drive the performance of Middle Eastern banks, recording impressive growth in this year's rankings. Elsewhere, Iranian banks are making sizeable gains.

Little has changed at the top of the central and eastern European ranking, where Russian lenders still dominate, but sales and takeovers have caused a reshuffle further down the ranking.

South Africa's lenders, for so long the shining light in Africa's representation in The Banker's Top 1000 rankings, retain the top spots in the regional list but mostly with falls in their Tier 1 capital. The good news, however, comes from the direction of Morocco's financial institutions.

The banks represented in The Banker's Top 1000 soundness rankings come from a diverse range of countries, but it is two BRIC lenders that take the top spots.

Europe's healthier banking landscape sees some of its banks return to the Top 1000 but it is Chinese banks that dominate the new arrivals table.