Features : The World's Biggest Banks | Global Finance

This year has been an interesting time to be a central banker. With the US dollar taking a tumble against almost all other currencies, the world’s central bankers have had to take a long hard look at their exposure to the dollar. As Global Finance went to press, signs were emerging that the central bankers were fighting shy of US treasuries—something that observers have long predicted would happen (see Milestone). The world’s reserve currency has been through some choppy times with the Bush administration officially endorsing the former administration’s strong dollar policy while quietly letting the currency slide.

They have also had to keep a keen eye on oil prices, which went on a wild ride through the summer. In many countries, the increased oil prices caused a spike in inflation, leaving bankers to decide if they should act to trim inflation —and risk over-reacting. In the end, many seemed to be shrugging off the potential impact of rising oil prices, provoking some consternation among observers.

It’s likely that they were looking at the general economic conditions, both in their own countries and across the world, and concluding that they should hold their fire. Most central bankers have benefited from the gentle—and general—improvement in the world’s major economies. Certainly few have had any major crises to deal with and, being a competent bunch, they’ve mostly handled the minor upheavals of the past year without too much fuss.

While most have maintained fairly consistent performance since last year, a few central bankers stand out for their improved handling of their countries’ economies. One is Switzerland’s Jean-Pierre Roth, who finally seems to have grasped the nettle and taken control at the central bank. His grade leaps from a D to a B in recognition of his startling turnaround. Canada’s David Dodge inches up half a grade as he, too, seems to be getting the measure of the job after a fitful start. Another central banker who flunked out last year is Alan Greenspan. This year he scrapes a C on the basis that he’s done a reasonable job in what remain difficult circumstances. Expect to see Greenspan’s grade improve next year, though, as his most recent performances have been more reminiscent of the market guru of old.

Again this year, the general level of competence among the world’s central bankers seems to have increased noticeably. That can only be a good thing for the world’s economies.

The World’s safest Banks 2004

Rank	Name	Country	Fiscal Year	Total Assets in $B
1	Mizuho Financial Group	Japan	3/2004	1,285.7
2	Citigroup	United States	12/2003	1,264.0
3	UBS	Switzerland	3/2004	1,120.6
4	HSBC	United Kingdom	12/2003	1,034.2
5	Deutsche Bank	Germany	3/2004	1,014.8
6	Crédit Agricole	France	12/2003	992.7
7=	BNP Paribas	France	12/2003	988.9
7=	Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group	Japan	3/2004	988.9
9	ING Groep	Netherlands	3/2004	983.5
10	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	Japan	3/2004	950.5
11	Royal Bank of Scotland Group	United Kingdom	12/2003	806.2
12	Credit Suisse Group	Switzerland	12/2003	777.9
13	Barclays Bank	United Kingdom	12/2003	776.7
14	JPMorgan Chase	United States	12/2003	770.9
15	UFJ Holdings	Japan	3/2004	762.1
16	Bank of America	United States	12/2003	736.4
17	HBOS	United Kingdom	12/2003	728.9
18	ABN AMRO	Netherlands	12/2003	707.8
19	Société Générale	France	12/2003	681.2
20	Fortis Belgium	Belgium	12/2003	653.5
21	Industrial & Commercial Bank of China	China	12/2003	637.8
22	Morgan Stanley	United States	2/2004	602.8
23	Dresdner Bank	Germany	12/2003	602.5
24	Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank	Germany	3/2004	597.6
25	Rabobank Group	Netherlands	12/2003	509.4
26	Norinchukin Bank	Japan	3/2004	506.7
27	Merrill Lynch	United States	3/2004	494.5
28	Commerzbank	Germany	3/2004	481.7
29	Groupe Caisse d'Epargne	France	12/2003	480.8
30	Groupe Caisse des Dépôts	France	12/2003	480.0
31	Bank of China	China	12/2003	464.2
32	Dexia	Belgium	12/2003	441.4
33	Banco Santander Central Hispano	Spain	3/2004	437.5
34	China Construction Bank	China	12/2003	429.4
35	DZ Bank	Germany	12/2003	406.7
36	Goldman Sachs Group	United States	11/2003	403.8
37	Sakura Bank	Japan	3/2001	402.6
38	Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg	Germany	12/2003	395.0
39	Wells Fargo	United States	12/2003	387.8
40	Bayerische Landesbank	Germany	12/2003	380.0
41	KfW Group	Germany	12/2003	379.7
42	Resona Holdings	Japan	3/2004	366.3
43	Lloyds TSB Bank	United Kingdom	12/2003	363.6
44	Agricultural Bank of China	China	12/2002	359.6
45	Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria	Spain	12/2003	356.9
46	NRW Bank	Germany	12/2002	356.8
47	Nordea Bank	Sweden	12/2003	331.1
48	Almanij	Belgium	12/2003	327.9
49	Banca Intesa	Italy	3/2004	327.4
50	WestLB	Germany	12/2003	321.6