WORLD’S SAFEST BANKS 2014

Standard Bearers


New entrants raise the benchmark for Global Finance’s annual ranking of the Top 50 Safest Global Banks.


The standard for inclusion in Global Finance’s ranking of the World’s Safest Banks rose in 2014, largely because highly-rated new entrants have squeezed out those at the lower end of last year’s list. 

This year, two A+ ratings and a third rating in the AA range are the minimum standard to reach the top 50. In previous years an average rating of A+ was sufficient.

As in previous years, the top 10 positions are occupied by European banks. This year all 10 of those institutions are either government owned or enjoy some form of sponsorship for their government or from government agencies. France’s Société de Financement Local (SFIL), recently created by the French government to support public-sector financing, enters the rankings for the first time. Rabobank, which was ranked 10th last year, falls to 15th following a downgrade by Fitch in November 2013 and cedes its position as the strongest private-sector bank to Canada’s TD Bank Group.

Four institutions still boast AAA ratings from all three major international credit rating agencies, compared with five last year. Germany’s KfW claims first place, followed by Switzerland’s Zürcher Kantonalbank. Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank and L-Bank, both from Germany, take the third and fourth places.

Nederlandse Gemeenten, based in the Netherlands, lost its AAA rating from S&P in December 2013, and falls to fifth position in this year’s rankings, compared with second last year.

European banks account for 19 of the top 50 banks, two more than last year as a result of the addition of SFIL and Switzerland’s Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. Many of these 19 European banks are commercial banks that do not rely on state sponsorship: Nordea and Svenska Handelsbanken from Sweden continue to rank highly, as do UK’s HSBC and Finland’s Pohjola Bank.

Five US banks are included in the top 50, compared with six last year. Northern Trust drops out following a downgrade from Moody’s in November 2013. BNY Mellon falls from 31st place to 47th following a downgrade from Moody’s in November 2013, ceding its position as the highest-ranked American bank to CoBank and AgriBank, which take 39th and 40th places.

Six Canadian banks continue to feature in the top 50. Caisse centrale Desjardins, at 26th, is the smallest bank in the rankings, with assets at the end of 2013 of $32.7 billion.

The three leading Singaporean banks feature strongly again. DBS, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank take 12th, 13th and 14th positions, exactly as they did last year.


South Korea contributes four banks to the top 50, one more than last year, as a result of the inclusion this year of Export-Import Bank of Korea (ranked 42nd). Similarly, China’s contribution rises to three from two, owing to the inclusion of Export-Import Bank of China (ranked 33rd). Hang Seng Bank of Hong Kong (ranked 24th) takes the combined total for Asian banks to 11.

Four large Australian banks take the positions from 17th to 20th.

Four banks from the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council feature in the top 50, with National Bank of Abu Dhabi leading the pack at 25th, followed by National Bank of Kuwait (ranked 41st), Qatar National Bank (ranked 49th) and Saudi Arabia’s Samba Financial Group (ranked 50th).

Only one bank from Latin America—Chile’s BancoEstado—scores highly enough to rank in the top 50. Banco de Chile, which featured at 48th last year, has not suffered any downgrades, but this year its score is just short of the level required to claim a place in the top 50.

No banks from Central and Eastern Europe or the Former Soviet Union come close to scoring highly enough to feature in the Safest Global Banks rankings. The regional rankings for CEEFSU continue to be led by Česká spořitelna and Komerční banka from the Czech Republic, followed by banks from Poland and then from Russia. Since last year’s ranking was published, Poland’s BRE bank has rebranded as mBank. It appears sixth in the regional listing, just as BRE did last year.

No banks from sub-Saharan Africa come close to scoring highly enough to be ranked in the Safest Global 50. All the banks featured in the regional list for the Middle East come from the GCC.

Many of the world’s largest banks still fail to score highly enough to make the top 50. BNP Paribas narrowly misses out on the top 50, but Deutsche, JP Morgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander will need much-improved ratings to qualify.

To be eligible for inclusion in the Global and Regional Safest Banks listings, banks must rank among the largest 500 in the world by assets, and they must also hold a rating from at least two of the three major international credit rating agencies. A sub-investment-grade rating from any of the three agencies disqualifies a bank from inclusion. Eligible banks are then scored, with 10 points being awarded to an AAA rating, descending to one point for a BBB- rating. Where a bank is rated by only two agencies, an implied score for the third rating is calculated by taking the average of the other two and deducting one point. Wholly-owned subsidiaries of other commercial banks are not eligible.

Banks with the same points are ranked by asset size, reflecting the strong positive correlation between bank size and high ratings.

NEXT PAGE: METHODOLOGY


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METHODOLOGY

HOW WE MEASURE THE SAFETY OF BANKS

The safest banks chart compares the ratings for the world’s largest 500 banks, based on asset size. Long-term foreign currency ratings issued by Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service were used. Where possible, ratings on holding companies were used rather than operating companies, and banks that are wholly owned by other banks were omitted. Government import-export finance institutions were also omitted. Within each rank set, banks are organized according to asset size based on data for the most recent annual reporting period provided by Fitch Solutions and Moody’s. Ratings are reproduced with permission from the three rating agencies, with all rights reserved. A rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a security, and it does not comment on market price or suitability for a particular investor.

Fitch Ratings /
Standard & Poor’s

Moody’s

AAA

Aaa

AA+

Aa1

AA

Aa2

AA-

Aa3

A+

A1

A

A2

A-

A3

NEXT PAGE: WORLD’S SAFEST BANKS


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WORLD’S SAFEST BANKS 2014  |  TOP 50 

Rank
Bank
Fitch
Moody’s
S&P
Total Score
Assets $mn
Statement Date
Country

1

KfW

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

640,953

12/31/13

Germany

2

Zürcher Kantonalbank

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

167,927

12/31/13

Switzerland

3

Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

112,995

12/31/13

Germany

4

L-Bank

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

96,733

12/31/13

Germany

5

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten

AAA

Aaa

AA+

29

180,917

12/31/13

Netherlands

6

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank**

N/R

Aaa

AA+

27.5

100,500

12/31/13

Netherlands

7

NRW.BANK

AAA

Aa1

AA-

26

197,425

12/31/13

Germany

8

Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations

AA+

Aa1

AA

26

197,337

12/31/13

France

9

Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat

N/R

Aa1

AA+

26

56,102

12/31/13

Luxembourg

10

Société de Financement Local (SFIL)

AA

Aa2

AA

24

115,195

12/31/13

France

11

TD Bank Group

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

824,916

10/31/13

Canada

12

DBS Bank

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

317,729

12/31/13

Singapore

13

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

267,485

12/31/13

Singapore

14

United Overseas Bank

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

224,634

12/31/13

Singapore

15

Rabobank

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

929,719

12/31/13

Netherlands

16

Royal Bank of Canada

AA

Aa3

AA-

22

823,278

10/31/13

Canada

17

National Australia Bank

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

752,585

9/30/13

Australia

18

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

698,745

6/30/13

Australia

19

ANZ Group

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

654,432

9/30/13

Australia

20

Westpac

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

648,485

9/30/13

Australia

21

Nordea

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

869,444

12/31/13

Sweden

22

Bank of Nova Scotia

AA-

Aa2

A+

21

711,350

10/31/13

Canada

23

Svenska Handelsbanken

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

387,591

12/31/13

Sweden

24

Hang Seng Bank

A+

Aa2

AA-

21

147,511

12/31/13

Hong Kong

25

National Bank of Abu Dhabi

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

88,512

12/31/13

UAE

26

Caisse centrale Desjardins

AA-

Aa2

A+

21

32,691

12/31/13

Canada

27

HSBC

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

2,671,318

12/31/13

United Kingdom

28

Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe (Sparkasse)

A+

Aa2

N/R

20

1,455,045

12/31/12

Germany

29

China Development Bank

A+

Aa3

AA-

20

1,341,642

12/31/13

China

30

Bank of Montreal

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

513,867

10/31/13

Canada

31

CIBC

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

381,015

10/31/13

Canada

32

Agricultural Development
Bank of China

A+

Aa3

AA-

20

364,583

12/31/12

China

33

Export-Import Bank of China

A+

Aa3

AA-

20

308,873

12/31/13

China

34

HSBC France

AA-

A1

AA-

20

288,089

12/31/13

France

35

Korea Finance Corporation

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

245,217

12/31/13

South Korea

36

Industrial Bank of Korea

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

201,424

12/31/13

South Korea

37

Korea Development Bank

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

158,921

12/31/13

South Korea

38

Pohjola Bank

A+

Aa3

AA-

20

139,265

12/31/13

Finland

39

CoBank

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

97,644

12/31/13

United States

40

AgriBank

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

87,726

12/31/13

United States

41

National Bank of Kuwait

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

65,958

12/31/13

Kuwait

42

Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM)

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

58,181

12/31/13

South Korea

43

BancoEstado

A+

Aa3

AA-

20

48,802

12/31/13

Chile

44

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise*

N/R

A1

AA

20

45,349

12/31/13

Switzerland

45

AgFirst

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

28,844

12/31/13

United States

46

DZ Bank

A+

A1

AA-

19

533,689

12/31/13

Germany

47

BNY Mellon

AA-

A1

A+

19

374,310

12/31/13

United States

48

U.S. Bancorp

AA-

A1

A+

19

364,021

12/31/13

United States

49

Qatar National Bank

A+

Aa3

A+

19

121,837

12/31/13

Qatar

50

Samba Financial Group

A+

Aa3

A+

19

54,676

12/31/13

Saudi Arabia

  • Source for ratings: Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service.
  • Source for Reporting Assets: Fitch Solutions, except for * Moody’s Investors Service, and ** bank’s financial reports.
  • Ratings current as of August 14, 2014

NEXT PAGE: REGIONAL RANKINGS | NORTH AMERICA


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NORTH AMERICA

Rank
  Bank
Fitch
Moody’s
S&P
Total Score
Assets $mn
Statement Date
Country

1

TD Bank Group

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

824,916

10/31/13

Canada

2

Royal Bank of Canada

AA

Aa3

AA-

22

823,278

10/31/13

Canada

3

Bank of Nova Scotia

AA-

Aa2

A+

21

711,350

10/31/13

Canada

4

Caisse centrale Desjardins

AA-

Aa2

A+

21

32,691

12/31/13

Canada

5

Bank of Montreal

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

513,867

10/31/13

Canada

6

CIBC

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

381,015

10/31/13

Canada

7

CoBank

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

97,644

12/31/13

United States

8

AgriBank

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

87,726

12/31/13

United States

9

AgFirst

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

28,844

12/31/13

United States

10

BNY Mellon

AA-

A1

A+

19

374,310

12/31/13

United States

11

U.S. Bancorp

AA-

A1

A+

19

364,021

12/31/13

United States

  • Source for ratings: Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service.
  • Source for Reporting Assets: Fitch Solutions, except for * Moody’s Investors Service, and ** bank’s financial reports.
  • Ratings current as of August 14, 2014

NEXT PAGE: REGIONAL RANKINGS | WESTERN EUROPE


JUMP TO SECTION:

 

WESTERN EUROPE

Rank
Bank
Fitch
Moody’s
S&P
Total Score
Assets $mn
Statement Date
Country

1

KfW

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

640,953

12/31/13

Germany

2

Zürcher Kantonalbank

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

167,927

12/31/13

Switzerland

3

Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

112,995

12/31/13

Germany

4

L-Bank

AAA

Aaa

AAA

30

96,733

12/31/13

Germany

5

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten

AAA

Aaa

AA+

29

180,917

12/31/13

Netherlands

6

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank

N/R

Aaa

AA+

27.5

100,500

12/31/13

Netherlands

7

NRW.BANK

AAA

Aa1

AA-

26

197,425

12/31/13

Germany

8

Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations

AA+

Aa1

AA

26

197,337

12/31/13

France

9

Banque et Caisse d’Epargne de l’Etat

N/R

Aa1

AA+

26

56,102

12/31/13

Luxembourg

10

Société de Financement Local (SFIL)

AA

Aa2

AA

24

115,195

12/31/13

France

  • Source for ratings: Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service.
  • Source for Reporting Assets: Fitch Solutions, except for * Moody’s Investors Service, and ** bank’s financial reports.
  • Ratings current as of August 14, 2014

NEXT PAGE: REGIONAL RANKINGS | CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE


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CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE

Rank
Bank
Fitch
Moody’s
S&P
Total Score
Assets $mn
Statement Date
Country

1

Česká spořitelna

A

A2

A-

14

48,694

12/31/13

Czech Republic

2

Komerční banka

A-

A2

A

14

43,429

12/31/13

Czech Republic

3

PKO Bank Polski*

N/R

A2

A-

12.5

66,026

12/31/13

Poland

4

Bank Pekao

A-

A2

BBB+

12

52,630

12/31/13

Poland

5

ING Bank Śląski

A

Baa1

N/R

11

28,802

12/31/13

Poland

6

mBank

A

Baa3

BBB+

9

34,622

12/31/13

Poland

7

Bank Zachodni WBK

BBB+

Baa1

N/R

8

35,222

12/31/13

Poland

8

Sberbank

BBB

Baa1

N/R

6.5

556,393

12/31/13

Russia

9

Vnesheconombank

BBB

Baa1

BBB-

6

101,254

12/31/13

Russia

10

VTB Bank

N/R

Baa2

BBB-

3.5

266,844

12/31/13

Russia

  • Source for ratings: Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service.
  • Source for Reporting Assets: Fitch Solutions, except for * Moody’s Investors Service, and ** bank’s financial reports.
  • Ratings current as of August 14, 2014

NEXT PAGE: REGIONAL RANKINGS | LATIN AMERICA


JUMP TO SECTION:

 

LATIN AMERICA

Rank
Bank
Fitch
Moody’s
S&P
Total Score
 Assets $mn
Statement Date
Country

1

BancoEstado

A+

Aa3

AA-

20

48,802

12/31/13

Chile

2

Banco de Chile*

N/R

Aa3

A+

18.5

49,356

12/31/13

Chile

3

Banco Santander Chile

A+

Aa3

A

18

51,734

12/31/12

Chile

4

Banco de Crédito e Inversiones

A-

A1

A

15

38,756

12/31/13

Chile

5

HSBC Mexico

A

A3

BBB+

12

39,068

12/31/13

Mexico

6

Banobras

BBB+

A3

BBB+

10

37,357

12/31/13

Mexico

7

Banco de Crédito BCP

A-

Baa1

BBB+

10

35,042

12/31/13

Peru

8

Banco Santander Mexico

BBB+

A3

N/R

9.5

62,795

12/31/13

Mexico

9

BBVA Continental

A-

N/R

BBB+

9.5

20,228

12/31/13

Peru

10

Scotiabank Inverlat*

N/R

A3

BBB+

9.5

18,428

12/31/13

Mexico

  • Source for ratings: Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service.
  • Source for Reporting Assets: Fitch Solutions, except for * Moody’s Investors Service, and ** bank’s financial reports.
  • Ratings current as of August 14, 2014

NEXT PAGE: REGIONAL RANKINGS | ASIA


JUMP TO SECTION:

 

ASIA

Rank
Bank
Fitch
Moody’s
S&P
Total Score
Assets $mn
Statement Date
Country

1

DBS Bank

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

317,729

12/31/13

Singapore

2

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

267,485

12/31/13

Singapore

3

United Overseas Bank

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

224,634

12/31/13

Singapore

4

Hang Seng Bank

A+

Aa2

AA-

21

147,511

12/31/13

Hong Kong

5

China Development Bank

A+

Aa3

AA-

20

1,341,642

12/31/13

China

6

Agricultural Development
Bank of China

A+

Aa3

AA-

20

364,583

12/31/12

China

7

Export-Import Bank of China

A+

Aa3

AA-

20

308,873

12/31/13

China

8

Korea Finance Corporation

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

245,217

12/31/13

South Korea

9

Industrial Bank of Korea

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

201,424

12/31/13

South Korea

10

Korea Development Bank

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

158,921

12/31/13

South Korea

11

Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM)

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

58,181

12/31/13

South Korea

  • Source for ratings: Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service.
  • Source for Reporting Assets: Fitch Solutions, except for * Moody’s Investors Service, and ** bank’s financial reports.
  • Ratings current as of August 14, 2014

NEXT PAGE: REGIONAL RANKINGS | MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA


JUMP TO SECTION:

 

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Rank
Bank
Fitch
Moody’s
S&P
Total Score
 Assets $mn
Statement Date
Country

1

National Bank of Abu Dhabi

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

88,512

12/31/13

UAE

2

National Bank of Kuwait

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

65,958

12/31/13

Kuwait

3

Qatar National Bank

A+

Aa3

A+

19

121,837

12/31/13

Qatar

4

Samba Financial Group

A+

Aa3

A+

19

54,676

12/31/13

Saudi Arabia

5

National Commercial Bank

A+

A1

A+

18

100,608

12/31/13

Saudi Arabia

6

Al Rajhi Bank

A+

A1

A+

18

74,632

12/31/13

Saudi Arabia

7

Riyad Bank

A+

A1

A+

18

54,732

12/31/13

Saudi Arabia

8

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

A+

A1

A

17

49,869

12/31/13

UAE

9

SABB

A

Aa3

A

17

47,281

12/31/13

Saudi Arabia

10

Banque Saudi Fransi

A

Aa3

A

17

45,348

12/31/13

Saudi Arabia

11

Union National Bank

A+

A1

N/R

17

23,838

12/31/13

UAE

  • Source for ratings: Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service.
  • Source for Reporting Assets: Fitch Solutions, except for * Moody’s Investors Service, and ** bank’s financial reports.
  • Ratings current as of August 14, 2014

NEXT PAGE: REGIONAL RANKINGS | AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND


JUMP TO SECTION:

 

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

Rank
Bank
Fitch
Moody’s
S&P
Total Score
Assets $mn
Statement Date
Country

1

National Australia Bank

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

752,585

9/30/13

Australia

2

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

698,745

6/30/13

Australia

3

ANZ Group

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

654,432

9/30/13

Australia

4

Westpac

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

648,485

9/30/13

Australia

5

Suncorp Metway

A+

A1

A+

18

57,409

6/30/13

Australia

6

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

A-

A2

A-

13

55,874

6/30/13

Australia

7

Bank of Queensland

BBB+

A3

A-

11

38,050

8/31/13

Australia

8

Macquarie

A-

A3

BBB

10

141,912

3/31/14

Australia

  • Source for ratings: Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service
  • Source for Reporting Assets: Fitch Solutions, except for * Moody’s Investors Service, and ** bank’s financial reports
  • Ratings current as of August 14, 2014

 


JUMP TO SECTION:

 

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