Annual Survey: Safest Banks By Dan Keeler

The Worlds Safest Banks 2010

Global Finance selects the worlds safest banks, the 50 institutions with the highest ratings from the leading international credit ratings agencies.
from Moodys. Norways DnB NOR dropped off the list completelya fate shared by Portugals Caixa Geral de Depsitos, its abrupt departure from the safest banks list reflecting that countrys financial woes. With Western European banks tightening their stranglehold over the global safest banks list this year we have, for the first time, listed safest banks by region. The regional breakdowns reveal some clear trends, with Singapores banks clearly outstripping Japans as the safest in Asia, and Chiles banks dominating the Latin America safest list. Perhaps not surprisingly, Canadas hold sway in North America, while Saudi Arabias banks have eked out a similar numerical advantage in the Middle East, although Kuwait and the UAE boast the only two banks from the region to make it onto the global top 50. As always, we have constructed our rankings based on size and credit quality. We began with a pool of 500 of the worlds largest banks by asset size to which we applied the most recent available ratings from Fitch Ratings, Moodys Investors Service and Standard & Poors, with appropriate weightings. Where different banks were rated equally by all three ratings agencies, the largest of the banks was awarded the highest ranking.

NK AWAR t is a measure of how much stability has returned to the D BA global banking industry that this years list of the worlds 50 safest banks is remarkably similar to last years. Bar a bit of jockeying for position, the safest 20 banks remain practically the same as a year ago. Within the top 20 there has been some shufflingfor example, a pair of downgrades served to knock BNP Paribas out of the top 10 and down to 18th place. Rentenbank, a perennial feature at the top of the safest banks list, attributes its longstanding trio of triple-A ratings to its government backinga characteristic shared by several of the worlds safest banks. The backing by the Federal Republic of Germany as one of the strongest sovereigns in the world is an extremely valuable asset in times of uncertainty. It underpins the safety and great relative value we offer our investors, says Horst Reinhardt, a member of Rentenbanks board of managing directors. Topping the table for the second year running is Germanys KfW, which also has an explicit government guarantee. CEO Ulrich Schrder says, KfW has a strong liquidity position and capital base. As one of the leading and most experienced promotional banks in the world, KfW benefits from a direct and explicit guarantee from the Federal Republic.We use our knowledge and our strength to improve economic, social and ecological living conditions. Rabobanks CFO Bert Bruggink says the banks clients believe the award validates the trust they place in the bank, adding, The award is a confirmation of Rabobanks strong capital position, robust balance sheet and continuous strong results during the recent years. While the standings of the banks in the top 10 have barely changed in the past year, further down the list there have been more changes, particularly as banks have built credibilityand their credit ratingsin the wake of the credit crunch. Upgrades from S&P and Moodys sent Switzerlands Credit Suisse soaring from 43rd place last year to 26th this year, but a double downgrade from Moodys pushed Deutsche Bank down 11 places to 39th. Nordic banks have suffered across the board with Swedens Nordea and Svenska Handelsbanken each tumbling by six places to the upper 20s from the lower 20s and Finlands Pohjola Bank slipping six places on a downgrade
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The safest banks chart compares the ratings for the worlds 50 safest banks, based on longterm foreign currency ratings from Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poors and the long-term bank deposit ratings from Moodys Investors Service. Where possible, holding companies have been rated rather than subsidiary banks, and government import-export finance institutions have been omitted. Within each rank set, banks are rated according to asset size. Ratings are reproduced with permission from the three ratings agencies, with all rights reserved. A rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a security, and it does not comment on market price or suitability for a particular investor. Because Moodys uses different ratings from the other agencies, equivalents are shown in the table on the right. Fitch Ratings/Standard & Poors AAA AA+ AA AA A+ A A Moodys Aaa Aa1 Aa2 Aa3 A1 A2 A3

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ED T

PY

R O F

ER P

N O S

AL

E R

AD

IN

.N Y

FO

TR IS

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SAFE

TI

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October 2010 | Global Finance

Annual Survey: Safest Banks

Worlds Safest Banks 2010

Rank Bank Country S&P Moodys Fitch Total Assets ($ billion)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 11 9

KfW

Caisse des Dpts et Consignations (CDC) Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten Zrcher Kantonalbank Rabobank Group

Germany Netherlands Germany Switzerland France

AAA AAA AAA AA+ AAAA

AAA

Aaa Aaa Aaa

Aaa

AAA AAA AAA AA+ N/R AA

AAA

495.4 149.7 111.5

368.2 113.2

Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank Landeskreditbank Baden-Wuerttemberg - Foerderbank Nederlandse Waterschapsbank NRW.Bank Royal Bank of Canada

AAA AAA

Aaa Aaa

AAA

Germany

Netherlands

Germany Canada Australia

Netherlands

AAA AAAA

Aaa

Aaa

AAA AAA AA

Aa1

National Australia Bank

Aaa

Westpac Banking Corporation Banco Santander

Commonwealth Bank of Australia Toronto-Dominion Bank ASB Bank

Australia Spain

Australia

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group BNP Paribas

Australia France

Canada

AA-

AA

AA

Aa1

Aa1

New Zealand

HSBC Holdings Crdit Agricole Scotiabank DBS Bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA)

United Kingdom Spain France

Canada

Banco Espaol de Crdito (Banesto) Caisse centrale Desjardins Credit Suisse Nordea

PR Wells Fargo du Crdit Mutuel (BFCM) Banque Fdrative

Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg Nationwide Building Society U.S. Bancorp Shizuoka Bank Northern Trust National Bank of Abu Dhabi Crdit Industriel et Commercial (CIC)

AL Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona (la Caixa) N O Svenska Handelsbanken S The Bank of New York Mellon R Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation PE United Overseas Bank R Pohjola Bank O Barclays Bank F Intesa Sanpaolo Y Bank of Montreal P O CIBC Cof Kuwait National Bank Deutsche Bank ED T JPMorgan Chase N ISocit Gnrale

E R

Spain AD

Singapore

IN

LY AAAA AA A+

N . AA
AA AAAA-

AA

T Aa1
Aa2 Aa2

FO
Aa2 Aaa Aa2

Aa1

TR 604.0 577.4 IS 520.5 AA DAA 501.5

AAAAAAAA AA AAAA 1,590.8 42.3

TI 75.1 BU I230.7
85.5

875.4

421.1 2,947.7

513.8

Aa2

Aa1

2,364.5

AA-

Aa1

AA-

2,243.5 766.5 457.8

Canada

Switzerland Sweden

AAAA-

Aa1

Aa3

Aa1

AAAA

AA-

Aa1

N/R AAAA-

Spain

Sweden

AA-

United States Singapore Finland Singapore

AAA+

Aa2

Aa2

1,000.9 389.5

149.3

180.8

184.1

AAA+

Aa2

AA-

731.2

United Kingdom Canada Kuwait Italy

AAA+ A+ A+

AA-

Aa1

Aa1

Aa2

AA-

Aa3 Aa2 Aa2

Aa2

AA-

AA-

AA-

297.1

Aa2

AAAAAA-

AA-

132.1

138.3

212.0

AA-

2,229.3 358.2 45.0

115.9

895.1

Canada

A+

Aa2

AA-

309.8

Germany France

United States

A+

United States Germany France United Kingdom France

AAN/R A+ A+ A+

A+

A+

Aa3

Aa2 A1

Aa3

AAA+

AA-

2,149.7 1,466.5

2,032.0

Aa2

Aa3

AAA+

AA-

1,243.7 593.1

622.1

Aa3

Japan UAE

United States

United States

AAA+

A+

Aa3 A1

Aa3 Aa3

AAAA-

AA-

339.4

AA-

N/R AAAA-

281.2 96.7

290.5

Aa3

82.1

53.6

Ratings correct as of 09/01/10, assets correct as of 12/31/09

(#21720) Copyright Global Finance 2010. Excerpted and adapted with permission. For more information about reprints from Global Finance, contact PARS International Corp. at 212-221-9595.