According to the Global Finance Magazine ranking the world’s
safest bank is KfW a German government owned development bank. This is the same
bank that was famous for transferring US$427 million to Lehman brothers on the
Monday Lehman filed for bankruptcy. I think I prefer the locals opinion,
back in 2008 Germanys largest circulation newspaper Bild labelled KfW “Germany’s Dumbest
Bank”. As everyone
scrambled to get their money out KfW was transferring money in!
KfW effectively entered into a swap with Lehman, sending over Euros with the expectation of receiving the equivalent in dollars but the deal ended up being one sided due to Lehmans bankruptcy as no dollars swapped back.
According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper,
this all occurred even though capital markets experts at the bank met through the weekend to
discuss the fallout of a potential Lehman bankruptcy. The transfer still went through
that Monday.
Surprisingly the rest of the top ten banks are in Europe, the
report is based on credit ratings and analysis of assets. The inclusion of
credit ratings as a consideration worries me. At least some Australian banks
make the list positioned starting at 18 through to 21. I’m with the Bild on
this one I’ll stick with the locals opinion!
Here’s the full 2012 list, which is compiled using credit ratings
and assets:
1. KfW – (Germany)
2. Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (BNG) – (Netherlands)
3. Zürcher Kantonalbank- (Switzerland)
4. Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank- (Germany)
5. Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg – Förderbank
(L-Bank) – (Germany)
6. Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) – (France)
7. Nederlandse Waterschapsbank – (Netherlands)
8. NRW.Bank – (Germany)
9. Banque et Caisse d’Épargne de l’État – (Luxembourg)
10. Rabobank Group – (Netherlands)
11. TD Bank Group – (Canada)
12. Bank of Nova Scotia- (Canada)
13. DBS Bank – (Singapore)
14. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp – (Singapore)
15. United Overseas Bank – (Singapore)
16. Caisse centrale Desjardins – (Canada)
17. Royal Bank of Canada – (Canada)
18. National Australia Bank – (Australia)
19. Commonwealth Bank of Australia – (Australia)
20. Westpac Banking Corporation – (Australia)
21. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group – (Australia)
22. Kiwibank – (New Zealand)
23. HSBC Holdings – (United Kingdom)
24. Nordea – (Sweden)
25. Bank of Montreal – (Canada)
26. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce – (Canada)
27. Svenska Handelsbanken – (Sweden)
28. China Development Bank -(China)
29. Bank of New York Mellon Corp – (United
States)
30. Agricultural Development Bank of China – (China)
31. National Bank of Abu Dhabi – (United Arab
Emirates)
32. CoBank ACB – (United States)
33. Pohjola Bank – (Finland)
34. National Bank of Kuwait -(Kuwait)
35. DZ Bank – (Germany)
36. Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel (BFCM) – (France)
37. U.S. Bancorp - (United States)
38. National Bank of Canada – (Canada)
39. Northern Trust Corp – (United States)
40. Qatar National Bank – (Qatar)
41. Samba Financial Group – (Saudi Arabia)
42. BancoEstado – (Chile)
43. La Banque Postale – (France)
44. Bank of Taiwan – (Taiwan)
45. Shizuoka Bank – (Japan)
46. Banco de Chile – (Chile)
47. BNP Paribas – (France)
48. Wells Fargo – (United States)
49. Standard Chartered – (United Kingdom)
50. SEB – (Sweden)
Jason
Disclosure:
Decisive owns no bank stocks
The material in
this article is for informational purposes only and in no way constitutes a
solicitation of business or investment advice. The material has been prepared
without regard to any client's or other person's investment objectives. Before
making an investment decision you should consider the assistance of a financial
adviser and whether any investment or service is appropriate in light of your
particular investment needs
