For the first time, a Chinese bank has taken the top spot in the global rankings. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is now the world’s biggest by tier-1 capital, according to The Banker magazine, compared with a rank of 32nd only eight years ago.
The country now has four out of the world’s 10 biggest banks and 96 of the top 1,000. The US also has four top-10 banks, but Europe has only one: HSBC, which benefits greatly from its operations in Asia.
At its peak price in late 2006, one Citigroup share was worth $55.70, giving the US company a market value of$277.2bn
In 2012 HSBC agreed to pay a record fine to the US authorities (for, among other lapses, allowing itself to be used to launder drug money) of $1.92bn
Illustration: Leandro Castelao
