The lacklustre showing of Japanese banks in this year’s Top 1000 reflects the sluggish banking and economic environment of the country in 2023. Despite a 1.9 per cent increase in GDP for the year, the Japanese economy avoiding slipping into a technical recession only after economic data was revised. Hampered by falling manufacturing rates and an ageing population, the country lost its crown as the world’s third-largest economy earlier this year, having been overtaken by Germany.
The country’s banks have seen another year of falling levels of Tier 1 capital, resulting in most falling in the overall Top 1000 ranking. Much of this decline is attributable to the strength of the US dollar, the currency used to assess Tier 1 capital, against the yen, with the Bank of Japan having maintained low interest rates as other central banks have lifted theirs.
