Over the past two decades, as banking in many countries has moved from being an activity performed chiefly in the state sector to one done mainly in the private sector, the emphasis has been on costs, efficiency and shareholder returns.

Signs of a general recovery in banking include the facts incurring losses are not recording them on the same scale as last year and that even the lowest Bank for International Settlement (BIS) capital ratios are higher than in 2009. The worst non-performing loan (NPL) percentages, on the other hand, are higher, suggesting that there is more pain to come.

The recovery in pre-tax profits to assets and pre-tax profits to Tier 1 capital ratios are a sign of a return to more healthy levels in the aftermath of the crisis.

With the onset of the financial crisis, The Banker has focused much more of its Top 1000 data gathering on asset quality. This year, a total of 179 banks supplied comprehensive data on their levels of impaired assets, compared with 142 last year. While this still accounts for only 18% of total banks in the Top 1000, it is sufficient to begin to understand global trends in asset quality.