Chinese institutions continue to dominate world’s biggest banks for the fifth consecutive year despite a weakened yuan and an economic slowdown on the back of global trade tensions through 2019, according to the annual Global Bank Ranking series published by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The report said one-fifth (19) of the top 100 banks are headquartered in China and collectively reported US$25.8 trillion in assets. China’s ‘Big Four’ – Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China – remained the 4 largest banks in this year’s ranking with combined assets of US$14.82 trillion, which is up 7.5% from the prior year’s ranking. The U.S. had the second highest number in this year’s ranking, with 11 banks holding $13.04 trillion in assets. JPMorgan Chase & Co slipped one spot to No 7 and continued to be the largest bank in the United States, while Bank of America Corp maintained its position as the eighth largest bank globally. London-based HSBC Holdings climbed one spot to No 6, overtaking JPMorgan as the largest non-Asian bank after posting a 6.14% increase in assets last year. Among the notable movements in this year’s ranking was Barclays, which moved up 2 spots to No 18. The bank’s 2019-end assets were US$56.89 billion higher than their value had exchange rates remained constant from last year.
