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Best Banks in the World
This blog highlights the best banks in the world in terms of their current assets and capital (from 2014)
Friday 31 October 2014
Introduction Video
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Sunday 12 October 2014
16 Sumimoto Mitsui Banking Corporation (株式会社三井住友銀行)
16. Sumimoto Mitsui Banking Corporation (株式会社三井住友銀行)
Sumimoto Mitsui Banking Corporation (株式会社三井住友銀行) is a bank with long history. SMBC aim to grow and prosper together with the customers, by providing services of greater value to them. SMBC aim to maximize the shareholder's value through the continuous growth of the business. Lastly SMBC aim to create a work environment that encourages and rewards diligent and highly-motivated employees.
Brief History of SMBC
- 1683: Tokugawa Shogunate grants Mitsui Takatoshi permission to act as a money changer. Takatoshi Mitsui then developed a new system of inter city loans.
- July 1876: Mitsui Bank is established as a private bank. (Capital stock: ¥2 million)
- June 1893: Mitsui Bank reorganizes itself as an unlimited partnership.
- November 1895: Sumitomo Bank is established as a private enterprise.
- November 1909: Mitsui Bank reorganizes into a limited company. (Capital stock: ¥20 million)
- March 1912: Sumitomo Bank reorganizes into a limited company. (Capital stock: ¥15 million)
- April 1990: Mitsui Bank and Taiyo Kobe Bank merge to form Mitsui Taiyo Kobe Bank (MTKB).
- April 1992: Mitsui Taiyo Kobe Bank is renamed The Sakura Bank.
- April 2001: Sakura Bank and Sumitomo Bank merge to form Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. (Capital stock: ¥1,276,7 billion)
- December 2002: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) establishes a holding company named Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) through a share transfer, SMBC becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of SMFG.
- March 2003: Wakashio Bank merges with former SMBC. (merged bank's name: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation)
- July 2008: Sumitomo Mitsui buys a 2.1 per cent stake in Barclays Bank for £500m.
- April 2008: A group of criminal hackers including Hugh Rodley, security insider Kevin O'Donoghue and Soho sex shop owner David Nash are found guilty of an attempted high-tech robbery of £229m from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation's London branch in September 2004. Henchmen Jan Van Osselaer and Gilles Poelvoorde were also found guilty of conspiracy to steal. The plot was discovered by Sumitomo Mitsui staff, and no money was stolen. Another accused, Bernard Davies, died before trial.
Type
Private (Subsidiary)
Industry
Financial services
Founded
June 6, 1996
(The Sakura Bank, Ltd.: July, 1876)
(The Sumimoto Bank, Ltd.: November, 1895)
Headquarters
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Number of Locations
444 branches (as of September 30, 2009)
Area Served
Worldwide
Key people
Takeshi Kunibe (President)
Services
Personal banking
Corporate banking
Investment banking
Operating income
¥218,075 million (non-consolidated, March 2011)
Profit
¥421,180 million (non-consolidated, March 2011)
Total assets
¥115,484,907 million (non-consolidated, March 2011)
Total equity
¥5,559,293 million (non-consolidated, March 2011)
Employees
22,524 (as of March 31, 2011)
Friday 10 October 2014
14. BPCE, France
Groupe
BPCE, the 2nd largest banking group in France ,
formed by the 2009 merger of CNCE (Caisse nationale des caisses d'épargne) and
BFBP (Banque fédérale des banques populaires). Its 115,000 employees serve a total of 36
million customers, 8.8 of whom have decided to become cooperative shareholders.
BPCE contributes 20% to the drive to finance the French economy.
(June 2010)
Tier-1 capital: €41 billion
Tier-1 ratio: 9.6%
Total assets: €1,124 billion
Loans outstanding: €288 billion
Saving deposits: €511 billion
Groupe BPCE, through its subsidiaries,
provides various banking, financial, insurance, and real estate services to
individuals, self-employed professionals, VSEs, companies, associations,
institutions, and local authorities in France and internationally. The company
offers deposits, loans and credit, and financing services, as well as private
banking services. It also provides equipment, real estate, operating, long-term
vehicle, IT operational, and renewable energy leasing solutions; and insurance
products, including life, pension, car, home, legal protection, accident,
provident, health, and payment protection insurance products. In addition, the
company offers investment banking and real estate financing services;
structured financing solutions, such as advisory, arranging, underwriting, and
financial engineering solutions for the financing of aircraft, exports,
infrastructure, energy and commodities, strategies and acquisitions, real
estate, and investment engineering; treasury products, cash management, trade
finance, and correspondent banking services; and investment, financing, and
hedging products on the fixed income, credit, currency, commodity, and equity
markets. Further, it provides specialized financial services, such as
factoring, sureties and guarantees, lease financing, consumer finance, cinema
and audiovisual production financing, employee benefits planning, payments
processing, and securities services. Additionally, the company offers
investment solutions, such as asset management services; private banking
services; and private equity solutions covering venture capital, growth
capital, business transfer, funds of funds, and investment advisory activity
activities. It is also engaged in the real estate development of residential
and commercial properties; and offers real estate advisory services.
15. Banco Santander (Santander Group), SA, Spain
Banco Santander also known as the Santander Group is a Spanish
banking company founded in Santander, Spain by Isabelle II of Spain. Its
current headquarters are found in Boadilla del Monte, MAD, Spain with its
current CEO, Javier Marin steering the wheel of the largest bank in the Euro
area (in terms of market value). Just
over 20 years ago, Banco Santander joined forces with Banco Central
Hispano in order to merge equal
companies to dominate the Spanish banking market, which is simply one of on the
many reasons Banco Santander has come to take coveted spot No. 15. Despite
their humble beginnings in the Spain area, Banco Santander has dominated
customers in Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia, and even their own
bank branch in Sydney, Australia on George Street.
Due to its significant presence in financial society, Banco
Santander has managed to accumulate:
- 186 000 employees
- 14 392 branches
- 3.26 million shareholders
- 102 million customers
With
its focus in retail banking, Banco Santander also provides financial services
for businesses, private banking individuals, large corporations, universities,
the community, foundations as well as providing services for property issues
and sponsorships.
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Santander Headquarters in SA, Spain |
Santander has been recognised as the largest bank in Spain
as well as one of the top 10 banks in terms of market capitalisation. With this
being said, it’s no surprise that Santando has taken over spot number 15, as its current assets come down to 1 533 312 US
million dollars and its capital of 7 788.62 US million dollars (information
taken from Santando’s current balance sheet [dating 31/12/2013]).
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Santander branch in the UK |
Besides providing financial services all across the globe,
Santando has become renowned for their past corporate sponsorship of famous
names including Ferrari as well as McLaren Formula One teams. Not only this,
Santando has spread their name across European households as they practice
corporate social responsibility, encouraging sustainability in their direct
community. Incorporating multiple sustainable living strategies, Santando on
their website state they provide “social and financial inclusion, while
contributing to the development of the communities where it is present and
preserving the environment,” as well as incorporating a direct focus in
investing in higher education for universities in the area; an initiative
considered a focus of Banco Santander’s identity.
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Santander branch in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
With all things considered, again, it is simple to state that
it is no surprise that spot no. 15 is taken by the Santander group who has
grown from their humble roots in Latin America back in 1857, to their current
position as one of the largest banks with a total revenue of 43 billion Euros
(2012). How could any one question Santander’s position on the best banks in the
world list.
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Santander branch in Berlin, Germany |
13. Royal Bank Of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, insurance and corporate finance through its offices located in Europe, North America and Asia. In the UK and Ireland, its main subsidiary companies are The Royal Bank of Scotland, National Westminster Bank, Ulster Bank, Drummonds Bank, and Coutts. The group issues banknotes in Scotland and Northern Ireland and, as of 2014, The Royal Bank of Scotland is the only bank in the UK which is still printing the £1 notes.
Outside the UK, it owns Citizens Financial Group, the 8th largest bank in the United States, and from 2004 to 2009 it was the second largest shareholder in the Bank of China, itself the world's fifth largest bank by market capitalisation in February 2008.
Royal Bank of Scotland is a public limited company, its shares are trading on the London Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. The bank provides financial services and is founded in 1727. The banks headquarter Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom and it provides its financial services to the whole world. The chairman of the bank is Sir Philip Hampton, and the group Chief Executive is Ross McEwan. The provides the following products and services to its customers: finance and insurance, corporate banking, consumer banking, investment banking, private banking, mortgages and credit card. The bank’s financials as of 2013 are: £19.787 billion revenue, £8.243 billion loss operating income, net income of £8.625 billion loss, total assets of £1,027.9 billion, £59.2 billion total equity. The major owner of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group is United Kingdom Financial Investment. The bank employs over 118,000 employees.
By 1969,
economic conditions were becoming more difficult for the banking sector. In
response, the National Commercial
Bank of Scotland
merged with the Royal Bank of Scotland. The resulting company had 662
branches. The merger resulted in a new holding company, National
and Commercial Banking Group Ltd. The English and Welsh branches were
reorganised, until 1985, as Williams &
Glyn's Bank,
while the Scottish branches all transferred to the Royal Bank name. The holding
company was renamed The Royal Bank of Scotland Group in 1979.
The RBS
Group uses branding developed for the Bank on its merger with the National
Commercial Bank of Scotland in 1969. The
Group's logo takes the form of an abstract symbol of four inward-pointing
arrows known as the "Daisy Wheel" and is based on an arrangement of
36 piles of coins in a 6 by 6 square, representing "the accumulation and
concentration of wealth by the Group."
The first international office of the bank was opened in New York in 1960. Subsequent international banks were opened in Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and Hong Kong. In 1988 the bank acquired Citizens Financial Group, a bank based in Rhode Island, United States. Since then, Citizens has acquired several other American banks and in 2004 acquired Charter One Bank to become the 8th largest bank in the United States.
The Royal Bank also opened offices in Europe and now has subsidiaries in: Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Romania and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the Asia-Pacific region, the bank has offices in: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore.
On 27 February 2014 after reporting a 2013 loss of £9bn the bank announced it would scale back its international presence. "Let me spell it out very clearly: the days when RBS sought to be the biggest bank in the world, those days are well and truly over," Chief Executive Ross McEwan, who had been in charge of the bank for four months, said in unveiling plans to reduce costs by £5bn over four years. "Our ambition is to be a bank for U.K. customers," he added.
Saturday 4 October 2014
12. Societe Generale, France
12. Societe Generale, France
Société Générale S.A. (SocGen) is a French multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Paris. The company is a universal bank split into three main divisions, Retail Banking and Specialized Financial Services, Corporate and Investment Banking and Global Investment Management and Services. Societe Generale has been ranked as one of the world's most admired companies to work in and ranked 12 in the world biggest bank. Societe Generale serves over 32 million customers in 76 countries.
"On our 150th anniversary, we have reaffirmed the values that unite our 148,300 employees by adding commitment and responsibility to team spirit an innovation. THis means that in both strength in unity and in the potential of each individual, and that we are individually and collectively committed to our clients and the company. Likewise, we are a responsible bank because each one of us acts as a responsible banker, as a personal custodian of our shared culture of appropriate risk for the client and the company."
Frederic Oudea Chief Executive and chairman
Type
Societe Anoynyme
Industry
Financial services
Founded
May 4, 1864
Headquarters
Boulevard Haussmann, 9th arrondissement, Paris (registered office)
Tours Societe Generale, Nanterre/La Defense, France (operational headquarters)
Area Served
Worldwide
Key people
Frederic Oudea (chairman and CEO)
Products
Retail, private, investment and corporate banking; insurance; investment management
Operating income
2.737 billion (2012)
Profit
774 million (2012)
Total assets
1.250 trillion (2012)
Total equity
51.1 billion (2012)
Employees
171,955 (average, 2012)
11. JP Morgan Chase Bank National Association
Despite not knowing much about the best banks in the world,
readers out here can mostly agree that they’ve at least heard of JP Morgan
Chase. JP Morgan Chase Bank National Association is a multinational banking
service founded in America by one now famous J.P. Morgan. It’s no surprise how
this bank has come to take over position number 12 as it is the largest bank in
the United States with its total assets coming down to 1 945 467 US million
dollars and its current capital being 1 785 US million dollars.
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JP Morgan Chase & Co New York Headquarters |
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Current CEO, Chairman and President, Jamie Dimon |
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