The Global Finance magazine published their 25th annual ranking of the World’s 50 Safest Banks earlier this month. The full list of the banks will be published in the November issue.
From the press release:
“The Safest Banks ranking for 2016 illustrates the impact of some the past year’s major political and economic shifts, with low oil prices in particular having significant impact on Gulf economies. With Brexit-like populism on the rise in many countries, political tensions threaten to derail reforms. Our ranking provides a consistent metric by which clients can compare the stability and security of banks across countries and regions,” says Global Finance publisher and editorial director Joseph D. Giarraputo.
Global Finance’s annual ranking of World’s 50 Safest Banks has been the recognized and trusted standard of financial counterparty safety for a quarter-century. Winners 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.
The World’s Safest Banks 2016 are shown below:
| Rank | Bank Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KfW | Germany |
| 2 | Zürcher Kantonalbank | Switzerland |
| 3 | Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank | Germany |
| 4 | L-Bank | Germany |
| 5 | Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (BNG) | Netherlands |
| 6 | Nederalndse Waterschapsbank | Netherlands |
| 7 | NRW.BANK | Germany |
| 8 | Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat | Luxembourg |
| 9 | Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations | France |
| 10 | Toronto-Dominion Bank | Canada |
| 11 | DZ Bank | Germany |
| 12 | DBS Bank | Singapore |
| 13 | Svenska Handelsbanken | Sweden |
| 14 | OCBC Bank | Singapore |
| 15 | Korea Development Bank | South Korea |
| 16 | United Overseas Bank | Singapore |
| 17 | Export-Import Bank of Korea* | South Korea |
| 18 | Banque Cantonale Vaudoise | Switzerland |
| 19 | Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank | Germany |
| 20 | Royal Bank of Canada | Canada |
| 21 | Commonwealth Bank of Australia | Australia |
| 22 | National Australia Bank | Australia |
| 23 | ANZ Group | Australia |
| 24 | Westpac | Australia |
| 25 | Industrial Bank of Korea | South Korea |
| 26 | Société de Financement Local (SFIL) | France |
| 27 | Pictet & Cie | Switzerland |
| 28 | Rabobank | Netherlands |
| 29 | Nordea | Sweden |
| 30 | Swedbank** | Sweden |
| 31 | Hang Seng Bank | Hong Kong |
| 32 | National Bank of Abu Dhabi | UAE |
| 33 | AgriBank | United States |
| 34 | Caisse centrale Desjardins | Canada |
| 35 | Kiwibank | New Zealand |
| 36 | China Development Bank | China |
| 37 | Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe (Sparkasse) | Germany |
| 38 | Scotiabank | Canada |
| 39 | Agricultural Development Bank of China | China |
| 40 | Bank of Montreal | Canada |
| 41 | U.S. Bancorp** | United States |
| 42 | Export-Import Bank of China | China |
| 43 | CIBC | Canada |
| 44 | SEB** | Sweden |
| 45 | DNB | Norway |
| 46 | HSBC France | France |
| 47 | Qatar National Bank | Qatar |
| 48 | CoBank | United States |
| 49 | National Bank of Kuwait | Kuwait |
| 50 | OP Corporate Bank (formerly Pohjola) | Finland |
* Greatest gain over position on the 2015 list
** New entry to the ranking
Source: Global Finance
Download: The World’s Safest Banks 2016 (in Excel)
A few observations:
- Despite Brexit and other issues, European banks dominate the top 10 list.
- While Deutsche Bank(DB) is bogged down in controversy Germany-based KfW has taken the top spot for fifth year in a row.
- TD Bank (TD), one of the big five Canadian banks, came in at tenth rank.
- Three banks from Singapore – DBS Bank(DBSDY), OCBC and United Overseas Bank(UOVEY) appear in this list.
- Four major Aussie banks making it to this ranking is not surprising. Similarly a few other major Canadian banks also made the cut.
- Among the US banks, US Bancorp(USB) took the 41st spot.
I have written about other banks in this list such as Svenska Handelsbanken and Nordea(NRBAY) before. From an investment perspective, these safest banks are some good options for investors to consider in the global banking industry.
Disclosure: Long USB, TD
