The worlds biggest banks

Despite their prominent role in the global financial crisis,American banks still dominate an annual list of the worlds biggest,ranked by their tier-one capital. According to the Banker,Bank of America,which bought Merrill Lynch during the crisis,became the largest bank in the world by this measure in 2009,displacing JPMorgan Chase.

Three other American institutions make the top ten. Being the biggest does not,however,mean being the most profitable: ICBC,a Chinese bank,topped that global league table last year. America and China each have three banks among the worlds ten most profitable. Citigroup,the third-largest bank in the world,also ran up the third-largest losses last year.

The Economist Newspaper Limited 2010