New | Four of world's five biggest banks in China
ICBC retains the No 1 spot in terms of total assets, followed by China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China
China is now home to four of the world's five biggest banks, according to SNL Financial. But do not call them global just yet.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China retained the No 1 spot in terms of total assets, with US$3.45 trillion. That was followed by China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China in the next two spots.
The only non-Chinese bank at the top of the list was HSBC Holdings, with total assets of US$2.67 trillion, making it the fourth-largest. Bank of China, however, was only US$85 billion behind the British bank, in fifth place.
SNL calculates the ratings by converting all bank assets into US dollars. That conversion largely accounts for the displacing of BNP Paribas from No 4 and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group from No 5, as the value of the dollar grew against the yen and the euro this year.
JP Morgan Chase was the sixth-largest bank in the world, but SNL conceded that if the bank followed the same accounting principles as the Chinese one, known as International Financial Reporting Standards, it would be No 1.