The Biggest Banks in the World by Total Assets for 2025
Written by
Caitlyn Moorhead
Edited by
Melanie Grafil
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The world’s biggest banks are those that have the most assets. Billions and trillions are flowing through the largest banking firms‘ coffers throughout the year. From global market caps to investment banking to wealth management, the biggest banks worldwide are no slouch in the financial services arena, having assets as high as $6.3 trillion.
10 Largest Banks in the World
On the surface, the numbers can be pretty galling. After all, the best banks and financial institutions in the world have more assets under management than the gross domestic product of every country save for the United States, China and Japan.
It’s also important to put those numbers in context. After all, providing a haven for assets is the main reason for the existence of banks. Here are the 10 biggest banks worldwide:
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd.
- Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.
- China Construction Bank Corp.
- Bank of China Ltd.
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Bank of America Corp.
- HSBC Holdings PLC
- BNP Paribas SA
- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.
- Crédit Agricole Group
1. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd.
Chinese banks are known for being leaders in global banking and this holds for the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, or ICBC. It’s considered one of the most profitable companies in the world.
2. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.
- Total assets: $5.62 trillion
Another one of the big four banks of China, Agricultural Bank of China, or AgBank, has branches throughout China, Hong Kong, London, Tokyo, New York, Frankfurt, Sydney, Seoul and Singapore. Its main shareholder is Huijin Investment, which is a state-owned investment company.
3. China Construction Bank Corp.
China Construction Bank is a state-owned financial institution. It’s at the forefront of China’s economic modernization and provides high value to both its customers and shareholders alike.
4. Bank of China Ltd.
Headquartered in Beijing, China, this commercial bank is one of the biggest banks in the world. It is also one of the older ones, as it was founded in 1912 by the Republican government to be China’s central bank.
5. JPMorgan Chase & Co.
As an American multinational services firm, not only is JPMorgan Chase one of the biggest U.S. banks but also one of the largest banks in the world. Its U.S. subsidiary, Chase, was ranked among the Best National Banks and Best Premium Checking Accounts for 2025.
6. Bank of America Corp.
Bank of America, Member FDIC is one of the largest banks in the U.S. and is a go-to option for many consumers. GOBankingRates has ranked it among the Best National Banks for 2025.
7. HSBC Holdings PLC
Originally the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, HSBC is one of the largest financial institutions in the world.
8. BNP Paribas SA
As a French multinational universal bank and financial services holding company, BNP Paribas provides a variety of services. These include, but are not limited to commercial, retail, investment, and private and corporate banking options as well as asset management and investment advisory products.
9. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.
The first non-U.S. or Chinese bank to make it on the list of the biggest banks in the world is Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group from Japan. It’s the largest Japanese financial group as well as one of the world’s largest banks in general
10. Crédit Agricole Group
- Total assets: $2.74 trillion
Also known as La banque verte, Credit Agricole is a French international bank. It is also one of the world’s largest cooperative financial institutions.
Biggest Banks in the World: Honorable Mentions
No matter where you are in the world, banking is big business. Here are some honorable mentions for some of the largest banks in the world:
- Postal Savings Bank of China Co. Ltd. Total Assets: $2.22 trillion
- Citigroup Inc. Total Assets: $2.20 trillion
- Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Total Assets: $2 trillion
- Banco Santander SA Total Assets: $1.97 trillion
- Bank of Communications Co. Ltd. Total Assets: $1.98 trillion
- Wells Fargo & Co. Total Assets: $1.93 trillion
- Mizuho Financial Group Inc. Total Assets: $1.92 trillion
- Barclays PLC Total Assets: $1.89 trillion
- Societe Generale SA: $1.72 trillion
- UBS Group AG Total Assets: $1.71 trillion
Why Asset Size Matters (and What It Doesn’t Mean)
A bank’s asset size matters because it dictates the rules and regulations it has to follow. Once a bank passes certain thresholds — like $10 billion, $50 billion or $250 billion — it faces stricter regulations on things like risk management, stress tests and plans for what happens if it fails.
The bigger the bank, the more damage it could do to the economy if it goes under. However, asset size alone doesn’t tell you everything. While it does have something to do with how a bank is regulated, it’s not an indicator of how safe or suited the bank is for depositors.
Final Take
The assets of the largest banks in the world are largely balanced out by similarly huge amounts of debt in most cases. Still, none of this changes the fact that the biggest banks worldwide are potentially dangerous with the degree of influence over the global economy they have.
Knowing the top players — in this case, China, which holds the first four slots of the list of the world’s biggest banks by assets — can be essential to understanding the financial markets and mitigating risk.
FAQs on the Biggest Banks in the World
- What are the three largest banks in the world?
- Currently, the three largest banks based on market cap and total assets are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.
- What is the richest bank in the world?
- The richest bank in the world is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China with total assets coming in at an estimated $6.30 trillion.
- Who is the number one bank in America?
- The current number one bank in America is JPMorgan Chase & Co., with total assets reaching about $3.88 trillion.
- What are the 100 largest banks in the world?
- The 100 largest banks in the world come from major financial institutions in the U.S., as well as globally, including China, Japan and Europe. These include:
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
- China Construction Bank
- Agricultural Bank of China
- Bank of China
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Bank of America
- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
- HSBC Holdings
- BNP Paribas
- Crédit Agricole Group
- Others in the list of the top 100 include Wells Fargo, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Royal Bank of Canada, and others across Asia, North America and Europe. You can see the full list of the top 100 biggest banks in the world at S&P Global.
- The 100 largest banks in the world come from major financial institutions in the U.S., as well as globally, including China, Japan and Europe. These include:
Cynthia Measom and Joel Anderson contributed to the reporting for this article.
To determine the biggest banks in the world, GOBankingRates analyzed the top 100 banks by total assets at the year-end of 2024 using the most current data available, as sourced from SPGlobal. For each banking company around the world, several factors were evaluated, including: total assets (assets reported in non-U.S. dollars were converted to dollars using period-end exchange rates), accounting principle followed and headquarters location. The banks were sorted to show the largest to smallest total assets for each banking company. All data was collected on and is up-to-date as of April 29, 2025.
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- S&P Global. 2024. "The world’s largest banks by assets, 2024."
- Congress.gov. "Over the Line: Asset Thresholds in Bank Regulation."
