The latest Top 1000 results suggest the Basel Committee has much to be pleased about. The aggregate Tier 1 capital of banks in this year’s rankings has jumped 3.85%, meaning the global banking sector holds 72% more capital than at the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008.
To be included in the 2017 edition of the Top 1000, banks must hold at least $442.12m in Tier 1 capital, $38m higher than 2016’s entry threshold. It is the third biggest increase in a decade, topped only by the 2013 and 2014 rankings, when banks were scrambling to satisfy new capital requirements under the first phase of Basel III.