The weak economy hasn’t stopped Chinese banks from expanding their balance sheets; they dominate our rankings again.
China continues to seek an antidote to its weak economy and deteriorating real estate market, while its banking sector continues to expand. GDP growth rose to 5.2% in 2023, up from 3% in 2022, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now forecasts it will fall to 4.8% in 2024 and further to 4.5% next year. year. Meanwhile, China has fueled the growth of the balance sheets of each of the institutions that rank in our ranking of the largest emerging market banks.
China claims the top 15 spots and 25 spots overall out of 50, with an average increase in assets of 7%; Taken together, the country accounts for 90% of the total assets represented in our ranking.
India has seen strong GDP growth in recent years, including 8.2% last year, according to the IMF, and the five Indian banks in our top 50 have also expanded significantly. In 2023, the year-end for this ranking, HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank, completed its merger with India’s largest housing finance company HDFC Ltd., increasing the bank’s assets by 50% in the country’s largest M&A. deal for today. The remaining four Indian banks in our ranking grew their balance sheets by an average of 7.5% in 2023.
Although South Korea’s economy has recovered this year, GDP fell to a three-year low of 1.4% in 2023, which likely contributed to asset growth below 1% for all seven Korean banks featured in our ranking.
A broader picture emerges when looking at the 50 largest emerging market banks without dominant Chinese institutions. This view extends the global reach to just one of the top 20 countries, where China ranks 19. The expanded view adds three more Indian banks (for a total of eight), as well as representatives from Africa, Latin America and other Middle Eastern countries.
| Top 50 Banks in Emerging Markets 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classify | Company name | place of residence | Total assets (USD million) |
Report date |
| 1 | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China | China | 6 256 940 | 12/31/23 |
| 2 | Agricultural Bank of China | China | 5 622 090 | 12/31/23 |
| 3 | Chinese Construction Bank | China | 5 364 918 | 12/31/23 |
| 4 | Bank of China | China | 4 540 031 | 12/31/23 |
| 5 | China Development Bank | China | 2 611 361 | 12/31/23 |
| 6 | Bank of Communications | China | 1 968 261 | 12/31/23 |
| 7 | China Trade Bank | China | 1,543,827 | 12/31/23 |
| 8 | Industrial Bank | China | 1 422 018 | 12/31/23 |
| 9 | Agricultural Development Bank of China | China | 1,394,821 | 12/31/23 |
| 10 | Chinese bank CITIC | China | 1 267 216 | 12/31/23 |
| 11 | Shanghai Pudong Development Bank | China | 1 260 883 | 12/31/23 |
| 12 | Chinese Mingsheng Bank | China | 1,074,383 | 12/31/23 |
| 13 | China Everbright Bank | China | 948 093 | 12/31/23 |
| 14 | Export-Import Bank of China | China | 893 938 | 12/31/23 |
| 15 | Ping An Bank | China | 787 783 | 12/31/23 |
| 16 | State Bank of India | India | 741 202 | 03/31/24 |
| 17 | Hua Xia Bank | China | 595 605 | 12/31/23 |
| 18 | Bank of Beijing | China | 524 760 | 12/31/23 |
| 19 | China Guangfa Bank | China | 494 688 | 12/31/23 |
| 20 | Bank of Jiangsu | China | 479 724 | 12/31/23 |
| 21 | Bank of Brazil | Brazil | 447 233 | 12/31/23 |
| 22 | China Zheshan Bank | China | 443 149 | 12/31/23 |
| 23 | Bank of Shanghai | China | 434 922 | 12/31/23 |
| 24 | HDFC Bank | India | 433 851 | 03/31/24 |
| 25 | Itau Unibanco | Brazil | 413 429 | 12/31/23 |
| 26 | Kukmin Bank | South Korea | 408 315 | 12/31/23 |
| 27 | Shinhan Bank | South Korea | 394 827 | 12/31/23 |
| 28 | Banco Bradesco | Brazil | 394 325 | 12/31/23 |
| 29 | Khana Bank | South Korea | 382 938 | 12/31/23 |
| 30 | Bank of Ningbo | China | 382 225 | 12/31/23 |
| 31 | Kaisha Economy Federal | Brazil | 376 881 | 12/31/23 |
| 32 | Worry Bank | South Korea | 351 294 | 12/31/23 |
| 33 | Industrial Bank of Korea | South Korea | 346 267 | 12/31/23 |
| 34 | Qatar National Bank | Qatar | 338 090 | 12/31/23 |
| 35 | Bank of Nanjing | China | 322 898 | 12/31/23 |
| 36 | First Bank of Abu Dhabi | UAE | 318 190 | 12/31/23 |
| 37 | NongHyup Bank | South Korea | 307 812 | 12/31/23 |
| 38 | Saudi National Bank | Saudi Arabia | 276 555 | 12/31/23 |
| 39 | Financial holding CTBC | Taiwan | 270 185 | 12/31/23 |
| 40 | Korean Development Bank | South Korea | 266 015 | 12/31/23 |
| 41 | China Bohai Bank | China | 244 239 | 12/31/23 |
| 42 | Santander Bank (Brazil) | Brazil | 237 400 | 12/31/23 |
| 43 | Emirates NBD Bank | UAE | 234 912 | 12/31/23 |
| 44 | ICICI Bank | India | 224 472 | 03/31/24 |
| 45 | Malayan Banking Berhad | Malaysia | 221 333 | 12/31/23 |
| 46 | Al Rajhi Bank | Saudi Arabia | 215 493 | 12/31/23 |
| 47 | Chongqing Rural Area Commercial bank |
China | 203 188 | 12/31/23 |
| 48 | Bank of Taiwan | Taiwan | 200 732 | 12/31/23 |
| 49 | Bank of Baroda | India | 190 203 | 03/31/24 |
| 50 | Punjab National Bank | India | 187 329 | 03/31/24 |