July 10 2024: British banks are ahead of European peers in terms of profits, but the last UK-based lender present among the world’s top 10 largest names has been replaced by a Chinese bank.
Pre-tax profits for the UK’s largest banks were $72bn in 2023, a 36 per cent increase from the previous year. They are ahead of French peers ($49bn) and others across Europe, according to The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks ranking, which analyses lenders’ financial statements and ranks them based on their Tier 1 capital — a core measure of financial strength under the international Basel regulatory framework.
HSBC accounted for over 40 per cent of UK banking’s pre-tax profits.
The lender also remains the UK’s largest by Tier 1 capital ($144bn) but no longer makes the cut among the 10 biggest banks globally (10th in 2023, 11th in 2024), which are now all names from the US or China.
Elsewhere in Europe, banks in Italy and Switzerland reported their highest aggregate pre-tax profits in three decades’-worth of data; while lenders in several other countries, including the UK and Spain, achieved their highest pre-tax profits since the global financial crisis.
Silvia Pavoni, editor in chief of The Banker, said: “There were no surprises after the UK general election, and banks will be hoping that this will continue as a Labour government settles in and implements its financial services plan. Stability will be a key word. British lenders have had a healthy year in 2023, but the attractiveness of the UK as a financial centre will continue to be challenged.”
All analysis and data is available from the The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks hub page.
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*Tier 1 capital is the core measure of financial strength under the international Basel regulatory framework.
Contact:
Mark Staniland | mark.staniland@ft.com
TEAM LEWIS | thebanker@teamlewis.com
About The Banker
The Banker is a flagship publication of the Financial Times Group, providing economic and financial intelligence for banking professionals globally. Founded in 1926, The Banker has built a reputation for objective and incisive reporting. It has published the Top 1000 World Banks rankings for over five decades.
Silvia Pavoni is the editor in chief of The Banker. She joined the FT Group in 2005 and was most recently the founding editor of Sustainable Views, a new service for sustainability professionals.
About the Financial Times
The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading business news organisations, recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. The FT has a record paying readership of 1.2mn, more than 1mn of which are digital subscriptions. It is part of Nikkei Inc., which provides a broad range of information, news and services for the global business community.
