Overall, the capital adequacy of the Top 1000 World Banks has improved compared with 2016’s ranking. Average Tier 1 capital is up by 3.9%, total assets are up by 3.0% and the global average capital assets ratio (CAR) is up from 6.44% to 6.50%. The Tier 1 capital of China and North America is up, by 5.7% and 5%, respectively.
However, not all regions are performing well. Western Europe, which holds the largest amount of Tier 1 capital, has seen declines across all three categories: a 4.3% drop in Tier 1 capital; a 3.4% decline in total assets; and a 0.05% contraction in average CAR.