While Jamie Dimon answers questions to congress explaining why JP Morgan took record losses and the banks in Europe are downing in their insolvency, many people are wondering which banks are actually being profitable in this volatile time. Despite China’s slowing growth, they currently have four of the five most profitable banks in the world and their success doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon. CNN reports:
The world’s most profitable bank Industrial Commercial Bank of China made $43.2 billion in pre-tax profits last year, followed by China Construction Bank Corporation and the Bank of China, which took in $34.8 billion and $26.8 billion respectively.
JP Morgan Chase and Co. of the United States took fourth while the Agricultural Bank of China rounded out the top five.
Chinese banks accounted for 4% of profits in 2007, but following the economic downturn, now make up nearly one-third (29.3%) of total global profits. Eurozone banks by contrast now make up just 6% of total bank profits, compared to 46% five years ago.
To further demonstrate how European banks have fallen during the euro crisis, 24 of the 25 worst-performing banks came from within Europe, with the National Bank of Greece ranked as the worst.
While some are suspicious of the state-owned banks’ figures, Caplen said Chinese banks can be trusted just as much as any other banks.
“We get most of our numbers straight from the central bank of China. Are they done according to international accounting standards? In some cases yes, in some cases no,” he said. “I mean you could ask a broader question, do we believe any banks’ numbers?”
