This article was taken from the July 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
This is a snapshot of the global banking system in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Based on data recently published by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, it shows the world's 50 biggest banks based on their assets - that is, $99 trillion (£64 trillion) in 2012, up from $91.5 trillion (£59.1 trillion) in 2010, two years after the 2008 crash. It's topped by Deutsche Bank, which had assets of $2,822 billion (£1,823.6 billion) - a massive 81.1 percent of Germany's GDP. The UK's figures are close behind: Barclays had assets of $2,545 billion (£1,645 billion) - that's 103.5 percent of the UK's GDP. HSBC's $2,652 (£1,716) was 108 percent.
The 26 countries here are the globe's economic giants, accounting for about 60 percent of world population, 82 percent of its GDP and 92 percent of its bank assets.
In the topsy-turvy world of banking, an asset is something that you owe the bank, like a mortgage. And a liability is something it owes you, like the money in your current account. For example, if the Cyprus government taxes depositors, it will be taking money from bank liabilities, not its assets.
The data also tells us how much of each bank's assets are based on loans. The more of a bank's assets are taken up in lending money to others, the more vulnerable it is to those clients defaulting.
Too big to fail? You decide.
Simon Rogers wrote Facts are Sacred: The Power of Data
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
