Top 1000 World Banks – Chinese regional lender rebounds to come out on top

Bank of Anshan, headquartered in China’s Liaoning province, has topped the highest movers’ list in 2020, adding a whopping 179.2% to its Tier 1 capital. What makes this achievement even more impressive is that this bank dropped out of the main ranking in 2019 because it had insufficient Tier 1 capital to meet the minimum threshold. It is now placed 705th in the Top 1000 World Banks ranking, with Tier 1 capital of $1.14bn. In addition, it reported a 457.4% jump in pre-tax profits, to $28m.

The only other Chinese institution that made it into the top 25 banks by Tier 1 capital percentage change is digital challenger MYBank, which was launched in 2015 by e-commerce giant Ant Technology. MYBank increased its Tier 1 capital by 93.3%, to $1.33bn, and leapt 139 places to reach 642nd in the overall ranking; its meteoric rise is especially impressive considering it only joined the Top 1000 club in 2019.

The US has the greatest numbers of lenders in the highest movers table. Leading the pack of six institutions is TCF Financial Corporation, which comes second in the table and 300th in the main ranking. It was formed by a 2019 merger between Minnesota-based TCF and Michigan-based Chemical Financial Corporation, and reports Tier 1 capital of $4.24bn, an increase of 145.9% year-on-year.

The country cohort also includes the largest institution in the highest movers table. Truist Bank was forged through the merger of BB&T and SunTrust, which was announced in February 2019 and completed in December that year. It was the first big US bank deal since the 2007-09 global financial crisis and created the ninth biggest bank in the country, with Tier 1 capital of $40.7bn. Truist Bank is ranked 48th in the world, making it the only bank in the highest movers table to sit in the top 100.

Another US lender, Indiana-based Merchants Bancorp, which purchased First National Bank of Northfield in Minnesota, is the only bank in the top 25 highest movers to join the Top 1000 rankings for the first time.

Egypt has a strong showing in the 2020 table, with the three lenders in the top 25 all adding more than 65% to their Tier 1 capital during 2019. Banque du Caire recorded the biggest rise (76.0%), closely followed by CIB Egypt (74.8%) and Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt (68.2%). Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt is also one of three banks in the top 25 highest movers club that returned to the Top 1000 after a year’s absence, alongside Italy’s Fineco and Kazakhstan’s Jysan Bank.

Two UK banks – OneSavings Bank and Virgin Money UK – grace the table in 2020, increasing their Tier 1 capital by 134.1% and 52.8%, respectively. OneSavings Bank, a specialist lender focused on underserved sub-sectors of the mortgage market, acquired Charter Court Financial Services Group, which focuses on buy-to-let and specialist residential mortgages, in October 2019. Virgin Money is the now the sole brand of CYBG, which housed Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank, Virgin Money and B, following a rebrand in October 2019.

Thailand’s TMB Bank is the fourth highest mover, with an increase of 121.8%. In 2019, it was merged with Thanachart Bank in a deal worth $5bn, making it the largest merger in the history of Thailand’s banking industry.

Tinkoff Bank, in fifth place, is no stranger in the highest movers table. Though it was absent last year, this is the third time the Russian bank has been included in the past four years. In the 2017 Top 1000 ranking, it reported a 54.6% increase in Tier 1 capital; 2018 saw a 112.2% rise; and most recently its Tier 1 capital climbed by 109.6%, to $1.76bn.

Top 25 highest movers