The Big Four is the colloquial name for the four main banks in several countries, where the banking industry is dominated by just four institutions and where the phrase has gained currency.
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International use
Internationally, the term "Big Four Banks" has traditionally referred to the following central banks:
The Bank of England is occasionally also included in the list:
Australia/New Zealand
In Australia, the "big four banks" refers to the four largest banks by market share, who between them hold 80% of the home loan markets in the country. In 2012, their combined total asset is A$2.66 trillion, which is about 200% of Australian GDP in 2011. In order of total assets, these are:
A longstanding policy of the federal government in Australia has been to maintain this status quo, called the "four pillars policy". The policy has been maintained through the Global Recession of 2008–09, as Westpac acquired St.George Bank and the Commonwealth Bank acquired Bankwest, reinforcing the special status of the "big four".
Being New Zealand's closest neighbour, with very close ties culturally and economically, has helped Australia dominate the banking sector there. Often referred to collectively as the 'big banks' or the 'big Aussie banks', the "Big Four" Australian banks also dominate the New Zealand banking sector in the form of:
Together they hold over 90% of gross loans and advances in New Zealand as well as close to 90% of all mortgages.
These four subsidiaries are massively profitable and in some cases even outperform the Australian parent company. The extent to which they dominate the banking sector can be seen in profits: In the 2012/2013 financial year, the largest of the Big Banks, ANZ New Zealand, made a profit of NZ$1.37 billion. The smallest, BNZ, made a profit of NZ$695 million. State-owned Kiwibank, community trust-owned TSB Bank, SBS Bank (formerly Southland Building Society) and Heartland Bank, the next four largest banks by profit, made NZ$97 million, NZ$73.5 million, NZ$14 million and NZ$7 million (albeit with an underlying result of about NZ$30 million) respectively. In other words, the profit of New Zealand's next four largest banks (after the Big Four) is equal to less than 30% of the smallest of the Big Four, BNZ.
Belgium
The "Big Four" banks of Belgium are a result of national- and international mergers in the early 90s.
Brazil
In Brazil, the "big four", according to the Central Bank of Brazil database (http://www4.bcb.gov.br/top50/port/top50.asp) are:
Canada
The term "Big Five", is used as opposed to four, with five banks dominating Canadian banking. The operation of Canadian banks include retail banking, mutual funds, insurance, credit cards, and brokerage activities. In addition, they have large international subsidiaries operated through subsidiaries (i.e. CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank, and TD Bank, N.A.). The Canadian banking operations of the Big Five are largely conducted out of each parent company, unlike U.S. banks that use a holding company structure to hold their primary retail banking subsidiaries. The Big Five include:
China
During the 1920s, the term “Big Four” applied to the Four Northern Banks of the Republic of China (i.e. the four most capitalized commercial banks in Northern China). These were the Yien Yieh Commercial Bank, the Kincheng Banking Corporation, the Continental Bank and The China & South Sea Bank. These were contrasted with the Three Southern Banks of Southern China.
By 1949, the Big Four banks were the Bank of China, the Bank of Communications, the Central Bank of China and the Farmers Bank of China. All four were state-owned banks. These four, together with Central Trust of China, Postal Savings and Remittance Bureau of China, Central Cooperative Treasury of China, were called the "Four Banks, Two Bureaus, One Treasury" or "四行两局一库".
Currently, in the People's Republic of China, the Big Four commercial banks ("四大商业银行") are:
and have been described as such in the Western press. All four are state-controlled banks with commercial banking operations.
Finland
The biggest banks in Finland are:
Nordea (predominantly Swedish), Danske (predominantly Danish), Osuuspankki (fully Finnish) and the fourth place is a tie between Aktia, S-pankki and Ålandsbanken.
Finland does not follow the Big 4 model so much as a model of 3 Major + 3 minor.
In the past, pre-1995, the situation was more akin to the "Big Four" model with SYP, KOP, Postipankki and Säästöpankki ruling the banking sector of the country.
This era came to pass, however, by a string of bankruptcies and restructuring.
France
Germany
In Germany, the largest four banks are:
Greece
In Greece, after a series of mergers and acquisitions following the Greek government-debt crisis, the sector has concentrated with the below 4 banks controlling more than 90% of the market.
In 2013 the National Bank of Greece attempted to acquire Eurobank Ergasias but later the plan was abandoned.
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
In India, the largest five banks are:
Indonesia
In Indonesia, the largest four banks are:
Ireland
In Ireland, the term "big four" applies to the four largest banks by market capitalisation. These all operate in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and have a wider international presence; these banks also issue banknotes in Northern Ireland.
Ever since Danske Bank has phased out its personal banking services, it has been suggested that either KBC Ireland or Permanent TSB could replace, in the medium-term, Danske Bank in the "Big Four" ranking.
Italy
In Italy the term "big four" is not explicitly used. Banks are rated according to their market capitalization. The first four in 2015 are:
Japan
In Japan, the "big four" are:
Lebanon
In Lebanon, where the banks have retained their banking secrecy laws since 1956, which is prevalent in the whole MENA region, and while adopting international measures to fight money laundering, the "big four" banks consist of:
Furthermore, as of September 2016, there are more than 51 banks in Lebanon, one of the smallest countries in the middle east, the fact that has always made investors from the Arab countries, especially the GCC petrodollar in addition to the European and world investors, to place their funds in the Lebanese banks.
Luxembourg
The big four full-service in Luxembourg are:
It should be noted that there are bigger banks in Luxembourg, but these only deliver a limited number of services such as investment banking, private banking or corporate banking only. Luxembourg is a financial center.
Netherlands
The "big four" banks in the Netherlands by market concentration are:
It should be noted that the market leader for the Netherlands, ING Group, is one of the largest multinational banking and financial service corporations in the world, with products and services reaching over 41 countries worldwide.
Pakistan
The "top five" banks of Pakistan are:
Portugal
In Portugal, the "big four" are:
Singapore
South Africa
In South Africa, the "big four" are:
South Korea
In South Korea, the term "Big Five", is used as opposed to four. The "big five" are:
Spain
In Spain, the "big four" are:
Sweden
In Sweden, the "big four" are:
Thailand
before Siamese Revolution the banking system are control by foreign power particularly the "big four" European bank
in 2014, the "big four" Bank Together they hold over 66% of gross loans and controlling more than 67% of total assets in banking system
United Kingdom
In relation to the United Kingdom, the phrase "big four banks" is currently used to refer to the four largest UK-based banking groups, being:
Until 1970, the phrase "big five banks" was used to refer to the five largest UK clearing banks (institutions which clear bankers' cheques), which in England and Wales were:
After the merger of Westminster Bank and National Provincial Bank to form NatWest (now part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group) in 1970, the term "big four" was used.
In Scotland the "big four" were:
United States
In the United States, the "big four" banks hold 39% of all U.S. customer deposits (as of 2015), and consist of:
From a retail banking perspective, U.S. Bancorp (headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota/bank charter Cincinnati, Ohio) and PNC Financial Services (headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania/bank charter Wilmington, Delaware) both have significantly more branches than Citibank, the retail banking arm of Citigroup. However, Citibank still has significantly more assets than U.S. Bancorp and PNC.
Vietnam
In Vietnam, the "big four" banks by total assets are four commercial banks: