Standard Chartered is the only major British bank to improve its performance in the latest ranking. Its profits increased by nearly 3% and it edged up one place to 33rd. HSBC and Barclays saw falls in profits while RBS and Lloyds continued to make losses.
UK banks’ total profits were less than those of French banks even though the UK is a leading financial centre and banking is a key industry. Profits at UK banks fell 41% while those of French banks fell 30%.
Brian Caplen, editor of The Banker, says: “UK banks always used to outperform in the ranking but for the past several years they have been slipping back. The most successful British banks – HSBC and Standard Chartered – rely on earnings from Asia and other emerging markets to maintain their position.”
The total profits of the Top 1000 banks are now back to pre-crisis levels overall but their distribution is very uneven. Before the crisis UK banks accounted for nearly 11% of global profits (2007), now they account for a meagre 2.61%. However, they are doing better than Spanish banks which together lost $73bn accounting for nearly 5% of Spain’s GDP. In a table of 10 largest losses six of the banks are Spanish. The UK’s Co-operative Bank comes 25th in the same table. In Europe one of the best performers is Turkey where the banks grew profits by 37%.
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Press release downloads:
Top five UK banks
Top 10 global banks ranked by Tier 1 Capital
Top 10 global banks ranked by losses
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About The Banker:
The Banker is the world's premier banking and finance resource, providing global financial intelligence since 1926.
The Banker is the key source of data and analysis for the industry. The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks ranking has been setting the industry benchmark since 1970, providing comprehensive intelligence about the health and wealth of the banking sector. To find out more visit www.thebanker.com/top1000worldbanks.
Brian Caplen has been a financial and business journalist for more than 25 years He has worked in Hong Kong and the Middle East and reported from all over the world. He joined The Banker in 2000 and became editor in 2003.
About The Banker Database
The Banker Database provides comprehensive financial data, news feeds and executive contact data on the leading banks in every country. Our data has been standardised for regional reporting and regulatory variations, and forms the basis of The Banker's monthly bank rankings.
Over the past five decades our rankings have become the industry standard for measuring bank performance and strength. The database tracks banks in more than 190 jurisdictions representing 90% of the world’s total banking assets. To find out more about The Banker Database visit www.thebankerdatabase.com.
About the Financial Times:
The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of more than 600,000 (Deloitte assured, Q1 2013). Mobile is an increasingly important channel for the FT, driving a third of FT.com traffic and 15% of digital subscriptions. FT education products now serve 25 of the world’s top 50 business schools.
