Chinese banks make Americans move

The German edition of the Handelsblatt published a list of the top 10 global banks with the largest market capitalization. The top three banks include only one bank of London's City. Lending institutions on Wall Street that formerly topped the rating have yielded the leadership to Chinese banks. Sberbank, the largest in terms of market capitalization in Russia, is on the 16th place.

As noted by Handelsblatt, major lending institutions continue to operate in conditions of market uncertainty. However, due to China's tight financial policies, Chinese banks have not sustained any major financial and reputational losses.

Back in 2007, the list was headed by U.S. Citigroup. In the current ranking, it was able to take only the seventh position. However, in 2008 the situation for the bank was even worse. This transnational structure has not even hit the top thirty of the leading banks in the world in terms of market capitalization.

Many others regulars of the rating are not in the best shape either: BNP Paribas (France) ranked only 13th, Mitsubishi UFJ (Japan) - 15th, Lloyds Banking (UK) - 18th.

The first and second places were taken by two representatives of the PRC - banks ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, 174.59 billion Euros) and China Construction Bank (168.76 billion Euros).

At the moment, the leader of the ranking, founded in 1984, is servicing over 3.6 million corporate customers. The number of individuals utilizing the services of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China amounts to a record 216 million.

China Construction Bank is a part of the so-called big four largest state banks of China with a market capitalization of €168.76 million. As ICBC, the bank has branches and interests worldwide, including New York, London, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore.

The third place is occupied by the largest European bank HSBC (UK). Incidentally, it is the sole representative of the European banking structures in the top 10. Its market capitalization reaches 138. 20 billion euros. According to experts, a strong presence in Asian markets has helped the bank to successfully survive the financial crisis.

The fourth and fifth positions are taken by U.S. banks Wells Fargo (123.15 billion) and JP Morgan Chase (122.01 billion euros).

The sixth place is taken by another well-known representative of the financial system of China, Bank of China. Its market capitalization in 2010 amounted to 106.57 billion euros. By the end of this year, it can further strengthen its position.

The seventh place went to the American Citigroup (104.82 billion euros). It shows a relatively good dynamic recovery, yet it has a long way to go before it can keep up with the Chinese.

Another Chinese Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, placed eighth. Its appearance in the top 10 can be associated with a successful IPO conducted in the summer of 2010 in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The Bank managed to attract $21 billion, and by the year end its market capitalization was 101.05 billion euros.

The ninth place was given to another American bank, Bank of America (USA) with a capitalization of €99.65 billion. The Bank is extremely important for the U.S. economy, as it services the largest companies in the country. However, the rate of growth of the market capitalization of U.S. banks is lagging behind not only Asian, but also European credit institutions.

A young Brazilian super bank also made it to the ten most expensive banks in the world. Itau Unibanco was founded in 2008, but the finance company is already the largest in its mainland, Latin America. Its market capitalization is €70,56 billion.

Russia's Sberbank has taken 16th place from the top with a market capitalization of 57.14 billion euros. Handelsblatt experts suggest that in 2011 the Russian bank will be able to take a more prominent position in the ranking.

Anatoly Miranovsky
Pravda.Ru

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