Safest Commercial Banks 2015

Banks in Western Europe occupy the most spots in the ranking of Global Finance’s Safest Commercial Banks—but one bank from Canada tops the list again.


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Europe Puts On A Strong Showing


For the second year in a row, TD Bank Group sits at the top of Global Finance’s ranking of the Safest Commercial Banks. The Canadian financial institution carries an AA+ rating from Moodys and AA- ratings from both Fitch and S&P.

The three large Singaporean banks—DBS, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and United Overseas Bank—boast the same ratings as last year, but are ranked below TD Bank Group on the basis of smaller asset size.

TD Bank placed 10th in Global Finance’s overall list of the 50 Safest Global Banks. DBS came in at number 11. OCBC took the 12th spot; United Overseas Bank was one notch below that.

Seventeen of the World’s Safest Commercial Banks are based in Western Europe. It’s a strong showing, but not as impressive as how Western European banks fared in our Global Safest Banks ranking, where banks located in that region hold the top nine places on the list. Overall, they contribute 22 banks to the top 50. Germany’s DZ Bank is the only financial institution from Western Europe to be ranked in the top 10 (at number 10) on the list of the Safest Commercial Banks.

US banks have a bigger presence on the Safest Commercial Banks list than the Safest Global Banks ranking, where they claimed only three spots. All told, American banks occupy eight places in the commercial bank rankings. Led by TD Bank, Canadian financial institutions take seven of the 50 positions. Australia contributes five banks.

This year’s ranking of the World’s Safest Commercial Banks includes four new entries: Pictet & Cie and EFG, both from Switzerland; LGT Bank from Lichtenstein and New Zealand’s Kiwibank. Shizuoka Bank, based in Japan, was downgraded by Moody’s in December 2014 and thus falls out of the top 50 ranking. Three other financial institutions drop off the list: Norinchukin Bank and Shinkin Central Bank from Japan and Germany’s WGZ Bank.

Only five Asian banks appear in the Safest Commercial Banks ranking, compared with 10 in the Global Banks ranking. No commercial banks in China or South Korea scored high enough to make the list. The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is Japan’s sole representative among the 50 Safest Commercial Banks, and it falls 17 places this year to 50th. The drop stems from Moody’s downgrade of the bank in December 2014. No Japanese banks appear in the global ranking.

Five banks from Gulf Cooperation Council member states appear in the Safest Commercial Banks ranking: three from Saudi Arabia, and one from Kuwait and Qatar.

Two Chilean banks appear in the ranking. Banco de Chile’s score lands it at number 37 and Banco Santander Chile at number 49. The highest-rated bank in Chile, BancoEstado, is state-owned and so not eligible for inclusion in the Safest Commercial Banks rankings. The same is true of National Bank of Abu Dhabi, which heads the rankings of the World’s Safest Emerging Markets Banks.


Global Finance’s ranking of the World’s Safest Commercial Banks is made up of financial institutions that are not majority-owned by a government or state agency. The other criteria are the same as those used for ranking the Safest Global Banks and the Safest Emerging Markets Banks.

A score of 18 points, equivalent to three A+ ratings, was needed to ensure inclusion in the Safest Commercial Banks ranking, although Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ claims the final place with 17 points. Seven other banks have 17 points, but with lower asset sizes than the Japanese bank they were not included in the top 50 ranking. The seven banks were: Credit Suisse, Norinchukin Bank, Shinkin Central Bank, Shinhan Bank, Shizuoka Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi and SABB.

SAFEST COMMERCIAL BANKS 2015

Rank

Bank

Fitch

Moody’s

S&P

Total Score

Reporting Assets $mn

Country

1

TD Bank Group*

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

837,909

Canada

2

DBS Bank

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

333,510

Singapore

3

Oversea-Chinese
Banking Corporation

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

303,660

Singapore

4

United Overseas Bank

AA-

Aa1

AA-

23

232,147

Singapore

5

Royal Bank of Canada*

AA

Aa3

AA-

22

834,191

Canada

6

National Australia Bank**

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

773,062

Australia

7

Commonwealth Bank of Australia***

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

745,527

Australia

8

ANZ Group**

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

675,733

Australia

9

Westpac**

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

674,639

Australia

10

DZ Bank

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

488,701

Germany

11

Svenska Handelsbanken

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

364,072

Sweden

12

Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank

AA-

Aa2

AA-

22

42,508

Germany

13

Pictet & Cie

AA-

Aa2

N/R

21.5

34,519

Switzerland

14

Rabobank

AA-

Aa2

A+

21

826,862

Netherlands

15

Nordea

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

812,604

Sweden

16

Bank of Nova Scotia*

AA-

Aa2

A+

21

714,560

Canada

17

Hang Seng Bank

A+

Aa2

AA-

21

162,980

Hong Kong

18

AgriBank

AA-

Aa3

AA-

21

94,425

United States

19

Caisse centrale Desjardins

AA-

Aa2

A+

21

38,213

Canada

20

Kiwibank

AA

Aa3

A+

21

14,634

New Zealand

21

Bank of Montreal*

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

522,092

Canada

22

CIBC*

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

367,985

Canada

23

DNB

N/R

Aa2

A+

20

356,573

Norway

24

HSBC France

AA-

A1

AA-

20

244,043

France

25

Pohjola Bank

A+

Aa3

AA-

20

134,062

Finland

26

Qatar National Bank

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

133,614

Qatar

27

CoBank

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

107,428

United States

28

National Bank of Kuwait

AA-

Aa3

A+

20

74,399

Kuwait

29

LGT Bank

N/R

Aa2

A+

20

31,031

Liechtenstein

30

AgFirst

AA-

N/R

AA-

20

29,503

United States

31

Banque Fédérative
du Crédit Mutuel

A+

Aa2

A

19

519,903

France

32

U.S. Bancorp

AA-

A1

A+

19

402,529

United States

33

BNY Mellon

AA-

A1

A+

19

385,303

United States

34

SEB

A+

Aa3

A+

19

341,396

Sweden

35

Swedbank

A+

Aa3

A+

19

274,190

Sweden

36

Samba Financial Group

A+

Aa3

A+

19

57,973

Saudi Arabia

37

Banco de Chile

N/R

Aa3

A+

18.5

45,517

Chile

38

EFG Bank

A

Aa2

N/R

18.5

25,623

Switzerland

39

HSBC

AA-

A1

A

18

2,634,139

United Kingdom

40

BNP Paribas

A+

A1

A+

18

2,522,471

France

41

Wells Fargo

AA-

A2

A+

18

1,687,155

United States

42

Standard Chartered

AA-

Aa3

A-

18

725,914

United Kingdom

43

State Street

AA-

A2

A+

18

274,119

United States

44

National Bank of Canada*

A+

Aa3

A

18

182,199

Canada

45

Northern Trust

AA-

A2

A+

18

109,946

United States

46

Al Rajhi Bank

A+

A1

A+

18

82,056

Saudi Arabia

47

Riyad Bank

A+

A1

A+

18

57,224

Saudi Arabia

48

Suncorp Metway***

A+

A1

A+

18

56,577

Australia

49

Banco Santander Chile

A+

Aa3

A

18

50,272

Chile

50

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ*****

A

A1

A+

17

1,752,159

Japan

Source for ratings: Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service
Source for Reporting Assets: Fitch Solutions Ratings current as of August 14, 2015

All Statement Dates Current As Of 12/31/14
* Statement Date Current As Of 10/31/2014
** Statement Date Current As Of 9/30/2014
*** Statement Date Current As Of 6/30/2014
**** Statement Date Current As Of 8/31/2014
***** Statement Date Current As Of 3/31/2015

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