Western European banks saw their Tier 1 capital decline in 2014, with aggregate core capital across the region's top 25 banks down by $87.6bn compared with 2013 results, and just four banks recording Tier 1 capital increases. One of those, France-based Crédit Agricole, climbs two spots to rank second in western Europe, displacing France’s largest bank by assets, BNP Paribas, which ranks third. Crédit Agricole added $2.4bn after three additional Tier 1 capital increases in 2014. In contrast, BNP Paribas recorded a 14% reduction in capital to $85.4bn.
Capital at Barclays, which ranked third in the 2014 ranking, fell by 11.7%, causing the UK lender to drop into fourth position in western Europe.
