Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2011. The ranking is Global Finance’s 2011 list of the world’s safest banks; positions have changed many times since and should not be read as current. National Bank of Abu Dhabi merged into First Abu Dhabi Bank in 2017.
Amid fears about risk in the banking sector, and with people asking which banks are the safest in the world, Global Finance puts together an annual list of the world’s 50 safest banks, based on a comparison and analysis of ratings from the agencies Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. It also takes into account the previous year’s profits, the bank’s assets and its exposure to risk.
- KfW. Germany
- Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. France
- Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten. Netherlands
- National Australia Bank Limited. Australia
- Royal Bank of Canada. Canada
- Banco Santander. Spain
- Banque et Caisse d’Épargne de l’État. Luxembourg
- Zürcher Kantonalbank. Switzerland
- HSBC Holdings. United Kingdom
- DBS Bank. Singapore
- Nordea Bank. Sweden
- Bank of New York Mellon. United States
- Pohjola Bank. Finland
- Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. Italy
- China Development Bank. China
As you can see, Banco Santander is 6th in the ranking, up from 10th place the previous year.
First place goes to KfW, a bank owned by the Federal Republic of Germany. Further down the list you would also find several banks from the United Arab Emirates, such as the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, as well as the National Bank of Kuwait, which has more than 46 billion in assets and controls a third of Kuwait’s financial system.
Featured image: David Schiersner, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
