Chinese Bank Tops World Rankings For the First Time

For the very first time, a Chinese bank has been ranked as the world’s largest. The Banker magazine compiles an annual list of the world’s top 1,000 banks, using Tier 1 capital to measure an institution’s ability to conduct large scale lending and endure shocks.

Highlighting the growing size and power of the Chinese banking sector, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has soared to the top of the list, displacing Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase in the process. The former has fallen from first place to third, while the latter remains second.

Britain’s HSBC Holdings comes in fourth while another Chinese group, the China Construction Bank Corporation, rounds off the top five. Interestingly, China now has four banks in the top 10 of the Banker magazine’s list, matching the United States.