Press Release: The 50 Safest European Banks 2016

NEW YORK, Sept. 14, 2016 — Global Finance has named the 50 Safest European Banks for 2016 as part of its 25th annual World’s Safest Banks rankings. This is the first time the pubication has published such an extensive list focused on the European region, and is timed to address marketplace concerns about the relative safety of European banks in light of the recent Brexit vote.

In addition to the 50 Safest European Banks, the full report also includes the following: World’s 50 Safest Banks, World’s 50 Safest Commercial Banks, Safest Banks by Country, 50 Safest Banks in Emerging Markets, 50 Safest Banks in the Middle East, Safest Chinese Banks, Safest Islamic Financial Institutions in the GCC, and Safest Banks by Region (Asia, Australasia, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America, Middle East/Africa, North America and Western Europe). The report will also compare the 2016 Safest Banks against our rankings from 5 and 10 years ago.

Banks were selected through an evaluation of long-term foreign currency ratings—from Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch—and total assets of the 500 largest banks worldwide.

“Europe is a bastion of banking stability, with strong investor protections, independent courts and a well-educated labor force. It is perhaps no surprise that European institutions dominate our top rankings year after year,” says Joseph Giarraputo, publisher and editorial director of Global Finance.

“By looking at the top 50 safest banks in Europe this year rather than just the top ten, we were able to probe more deeply into this region and discover some of the smaller entities that nevertheless have impressive strength, stability and reputation for excellence.”

Ratings current as of August 9, 2016