It always surprises Americans that the U.S. banks that they have all heard about so much are not necessarily the largest banks in the world.
Given the recent IndyMac collapse, it is becoming easier for investors to realize that U.S. banks are not necessarily the largest or the safest. In February 2008, Bloomberg released a list of the world’s ten largest banks by market capitalization.
Only four U.S. banks made the list, with Citibank dropping from the number 1 spot to number 7. Here are the rankings:
- Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (China) Market capitalization of $278 billion.
- Bank of America (US) Market capitalization of $196 billion.
- HSBC Holdings (UK) Market capitalization of $177 billion.
- China Construction (China) Market capitalization of $165 billion.
- Bank of China (China) Market capitalization of $165 billion.
- JPMorgan Chase (US) Market capitalization of $160 billion.
- Citigroup (US) Market capitalization of $141 billion.
- Wells Fargo (US) Market capitalization of $112 billion.
- Banco Santander (Spain) Market capitalization of $110 billion.
- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Market capitalization of $105 billion.
