Global banking profits have reached an all-time high, with China dominating the post financial crisis banking sector, according to The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks ranking.

Chinese banks ICBC and China Construction Bank top the world ranking, with two more Chinese banks in the top ten. Chinese banks now account for a third of total world banking profits, outstripping the USA (20% of profits) and contributing to the largest ever annual profits for the global banking sector of $920 billion – 23% higher than the previous year.

Struggling Eurozone banks contributed a meagre 3% overall to global profits, down from 25% before the 2008 crisis, as recovery remains slow or non-existent in many countries. Italian banks lost $35bn, topping the list of national losses while Portuguese and Irish banks also continued to suffer, losing almost $4bn each. Spanish banks did at least manage to turn last year’s catastrophic losses of $68bn into a profit of $12bn.

In terms of profit generation, African banks make the highest returns on capital of 24% – double the average return for the rest of the globe and far exceeding average returns of only 4% in Europe. This is despite African banks holding less than 1% of global capital. Central and South American banks recorded the second highest returns of 23% and the Middle East saw returns of more than 15%, despite each holding less than 4% of global capital. Brazil did not perform as well with its share of global profits falling to 2.84%, from 10% before the financial crisis. Though this still exceeds the UK’s 2.37% share of profits.

Brian Caplen, editor of The Banker, said: “This is the first time since before the financial crisis that we have seen such a large annual increase in global banking profits. Apart from China’s contribution US banks are also doing well and have recovered much faster from the crisis than European banks.”

For more information, graphs and a video on The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks ranking: http://releasd.com/6ca2.

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The Banker is the world’s premier banking and finance resource, providing global financial intelligence since 1926.

The Banker is the key source of data and analysis for the industry. The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks ranking has been setting the industry benchmark since 1970, providing comprehensive intelligence about the health and wealth of the banking sector. To find out more visit www.thebanker.com/top1000worldbanks.

Brian Caplen has been a financial and business journalist for more than 25 years He has worked in Hong Kong and theMiddle Eastand reported from all over the world. He joined The Banker in 2000 and became editor in 2003.

The Banker Database provides comprehensive financial data, news feeds and executive contact data on the leading banks in every country. Our data has been standardised for regional reporting and regulatory variations, and forms the basis of The Banker’s monthly bank rankings.

Over the past five decades our rankings have become the industry standard for measuring bank performance and strength. The database tracks banks in more than 190 jurisdictions representing 90% of the world’s total banking assets. To find out more about The Banker Database visit www.thebankerdatabase.com.

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