Significant Jostling in Rankings from Year to Year
In the ranking of the “Global 1000 Banks” published by the U.K. financial journal “The Banker,” which aggregates the performance of the previous year, six domestic banks, or financial groups, including KB Financial, Shinhan Financial, Korea Development Bank (KDB), Hana Financial, Woori Financial, and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) made it into the top 100.
According to financial industry sources on Aug. 21, KB Financial, with capital of US$35.5 billion, secured the highest position, moving up two steps to 60th place compared to last year. This ranking is based on basic Tier 1 capital, which is the actual capital soundness indicator for banks consisting of capital, retained earnings, and innovative capital securities. KB Financial has maintained its position as the top domestic bank since 2017.
Shinhan Financial, with US$34.2 billion, also moved up one spot to 63rd compared to the previous year. However, KDB, which was ranked 63rd last year with US$27.7 billion, dropped significantly to 75th place this year. The decline is attributed to the deteriorating financial health of KDB, the largest shareholder of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) due to the fact that KEPCO reported a deficit of approximately 34 trillion won last year.
Hana Financial, with US$27.7 billion, also moved down in the rankings this year, from 73rd place last year to 76th this year, a decline of three spots. Woori Financial, with US$22.1 billion, was ranked 93rd compared to 96th the previous year, while IBK, with US$21.6 billion, was ranked 95th compared to 94th the previous year.
Based on total assets, six domestic banks also made it into the top 100. KB Financial, with US$553.3 billion, ranked the highest among domestic banks at 64th place, followed by Shinhan Financial with US$533.3 billion at 66th place, Hana Financial with US$448.9 billion at 72nd place, Nonghyup Financial with US$414.2 billion at 76th place, Woori Financial with US$379.1 billion at 81st place, and IBK with US$340.9 billion at 92nd place.
China’s four major banks -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China -- secured the top four positions. Positions five to eight were held by American banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America (BOA), Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. The rankings from one to eight remained the same as the previous year. Bank of Communications took 9th position, while HSBC Holdings in the U.K. moved up to the 10th spot, exchanging positions compared to last year.