Noam Galai/Getty Images
It has been a solid year for the banking industry, characterized by strong profitability, steady deposit growth and a continued rebound in investment banking fees and trading revenues. U.S.-based and Chinese banks once again dominate the 2025 Forbes Global 2000 list, which measures the world’s largest and most successful companies. Half of the top ten companies on the list are banks based in the United States or China.
JPMorgan Chase claimed the top spot overall for the third year in a row, after rising from fourth place in 2022 following its acquisition of First Republic out of insolvency. The bank has $4.3 trillion in assets. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ($6.6 trillion in assets) followed close behind, rising one spot to No. 3 overall on the list.
The global banking sector remained resilient over the last twelve months despite ongoing challenges, as net interest margins have been helped by higher interest rates. In the United States, net income is well above pre-pandemic levels, liquidity is stable and capital levels have increased. Many of the largest banks saw sizable asset growth during the first quarter of this year, benefiting from a normalization of the yield curve (where longer-term loans once again have higher rates than short-term loans). Expectations for rate cuts and a more business-friendly regulatory environment have also driven optimism over a rebound in loan demand and M&A activity.
Despite rising profits, many U.S. bank executives have noted the potential impact of uncertainty arising from the Trump administration’s tariff announcements. According to research from Fitch Ratings, “uncertainty on end-state trade policy, potential foreign retaliation and second order effects, raise doubts about the ability to imply future bank performance from first quarter results.” Banks, which are in the business of profiting from making loans, are understandably concerned that the uncertainty created by Trump Administration’s erratic trade and other economic policies, will continue to paralyze businesses which have trouble making and executing strategic growth plans when the ground is constantly shifting.
Besides JPMorgan, there are five other U.S. banks among the top 50, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley.
China’s mega banks, meanwhile, saw slight declines in net profit and operating income earlier in 2025 as net interest margins have continued a multi-year decline. The downturn in the property sector has led to more non-performing loans, subsequently squeezing net interest margins due to lower lending rates and a slowdown in loan demand. Total assets have increased, however, especially as banks in China continue to shift toward new growth areas like emerging industry loans (sectors deemed crucial for the country’s future economic growth, such as in areas like electric vehicles or artificial intelligence), which have seen solid growth.
“Entering a cycle where both interest rates and net interest margins are low, the banking industry is facing increased uncertainty in the macro-environment,” according to Kelvin Leung, Greater China Financial Services Partner at Ernst & Young. In response to these challenges, he notes that Chinese-listed banks are fortifying themselves by diversifying revenue sources, in emerging industries and replenishing capital, as well as looking to optimize debt structure and costs.
Besides China’s ICBC, three other banks—all regular mainstays on this list—were among the biggest in the world: China Construction Bank ($5.5 trillion in assets) at No. 7, Agricultural Bank of China ($5.9 trillion) at No. 8 and the Bank of China ($4.8 trillion) at No. 12.
European banks also managed to grow net interest income, but still face challenges amid ongoing economic uncertainty, potential interest rate cuts and the impact of tariffs. “European bank revenues are likely to be adversely affected by rate cuts, whereas for Canadian banks potential U.S. tariffs create significant uncertainties,” according to Sonja Förster, Senior Vice President, European Financial Institutions at Morningstar DBRS. “However, these factors do not represent a rating risk, as underlying fundamentals of European and Canadian banks are generally strong.”
Britain’s HSBC Holdings was once again the largest bank outside of the U.S. and China, keeping the No. 15 spot with more than $3 trillion in assets. Next is the Royal Bank of Canada, up one spot from last year to No. 26., with $1.5 trillion in assets. The biggest gainer among the 50 largest banks in the world was Spanish bank Santander ($1.9 trillion), which rose seven spots to No. 29 on this year’s list. France’s BNP Paribas, meanwhile, lost several spots, falling from No. 32 to No. 35., despite its assets of $2.8 trillion. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial reclaimed its position ahead of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial as Japan’s largest bank, with assets surpassing $2.6 trillion, taking the No. 34 spot overall.
In total there are 328 banks on the 2025 Global 2000 list, up from 315 last year.
Forbes compiled the Global 2000 list using data from FactSet Research to screen for the biggest public companies in four metrics: sales, profits, assets and market value. The market value calculations use closing prices as of April 25, 2025 and include all common shares outstanding.
MORE FROM FORBES
