Global banking is in generally good and improving health judging by the aggregate figures of 2018’s Top 1000 World Banks ranking. Total profits have tipped over the trillion-dollar mark at $1112bn after climbing 15.6% since the 2017 ranking. This is nearly 10 times the profit level a decade ago when the financial crisis ravaged bank profits in the 2009 ranking. It follows two years of declining profits.
But the best news is that this profits increase does not appear to be a gain at the expense of higher risk taking. Tier 1 capital has also advanced in step with an 11.7% rise to a record $8235bn while assets marched ahead more moderately with a 9% rise to $123,700bn.