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China’s big four remain at top of ranking

There is little change at the top of the Top 1000 World Banks ranking, as Chinese megalenders keep a tight grip on the top four places. Kimberley Long reports.
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Chinese banks continue to hold on to the top four places of Top 1000 World Banks 2022 ranking. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China have retained their respective places with double-digit Tier 1 capital growth in 2021, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in 2020. The exception is ICBC, which again sees annual growth of more than 15% taking its capital to $508.85bn. It is the first time a bank has reached a half a trillion dollars in Tier 1 capital. It is also over $100bn more than second-placed CCB.

China has 140 banks in the main ranking, a slight decline on the 144 seen in 2021’s ranking. While concerns have emerged on the health of the smaller, regional banks based on rising non-performing loans risks, the state-owned banks continue to post solid results.

This year, another Chinese bank has joined the global top 10, as Bank of Communications has climbed up one place to take the 10th spot. Additionally, several other banks are edging up the ranking: China Merchants Bank (CMB) moved up to 11th place from 14th, with a 22.8% increase in Tier 1 capital. The bank also placed within the top five for return on assets (ROA) among the Chinese banks, with a ratio of 1.31%.

However, the highest ROA comes from XW Bank, which posts 1.61%. In the main ranking, the online bank moved up 95 spots to 837th with 18.2% increase in Tier 1 capital. Fellow digital bank WeBank came second for ROA, at 1.57%. The bank is ranked 331st in the main ranking and 67th in the country table. However, the Ant Group-operated neobank MYBank’s ROA is 0.49%, which is more in line with other Chinese banks.

CMB tops the best-performing table for a second year running, taking the top spot across four categories: profitability, return on risk, soundness and leverage. China Citic Bank, which comes third overall, took top place for growth. Postal Savings Bank of China has placed first for liquidity and Industrial Bank has outperformed its peers in operational efficiency.

The biggest banks have also enjoyed a year of healthy profits. Nine of the top 10 banks achieved double-digit growth in pre-tax profits. Of those, Industrial Bank saw the greatest growth of 27.5%. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank was the only top 10 Chinese bank to have reported a decline in profits, of 9.2%. The bank also fell one place to ninth in the country table, as it achieved a comparatively low 7.3% increase in Tier 1 capital.

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Kimberley Long is the Asia editor at The Banker. She joined from Euromoney, where she spent four years as transaction services editor. She has a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Liverpool, and an MA in Print Journalism from the University of Sheffield. Between degrees she spent a year teaching English in Japan as part of the JET Programme.
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