Big Four (banks)
Encyclopedia
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.

Australia

In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the "Big Four" refers to the four largest banks by market share, who between them hold 85% of the home loan markets the country. These are:
  • National Australia Bank
    National Australia Bank
    National Australia Bank is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia in terms of market capitalisation and customers. NAB is ranked 17th largest bank in the world measured by market capitalisation...

  • Commonwealth Bank (government owned until 1996)
  • Westpac
    Westpac
    Westpac , is a multinational financial services, one of the Australian "big four" banks and the second-largest bank in New Zealand....

  • Australia and New Zealand Banking Group

The government policy till 2011 was to maintain this status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...

, it was called the four pillars policy
Four pillars policy
The Four Pillars policy is a legislative policy of the Australian Government to maintain the separation of the four largest banks in Australia by disallowing their merger or acquisition by any of the other three banks....

. But since the acquisition of St George Bank by Westpac and BankWest by CBA during the Global Recession of 2008-9, the Federal Government is trying to set up a 5th pillar of banking with Credit Unions.

Brazil

In Brazil the Big Four refers the four biggest banks by assets. One of them, Caixa Econômica Federal
Caixa Econômica Federal
Caixa Econômica Federal , also referred to as Caixa or CEF, is a Brazilian bank. It is the largest government-owned financial institution in Latin America. It is the largest bank in Brazil and in Latin America by assets....

 is fully owned by the Brazilian federal government, which also partially owns the largest bank of Brazil, Banco do Brasil
Banco do Brasil
Banco do Brasil S.A. is the largest Brazilian and Latin American bank by assets, and the third by market value. The bank, headquartered in Brasília, was founded in 1808 and is the oldest active bank in Brazil — and one of the oldest financial institutions in the world.Banco do Brasil is controlled...

. The Brazilian Big Four are:
  • Banco do Brasil
    Banco do Brasil
    Banco do Brasil S.A. is the largest Brazilian and Latin American bank by assets, and the third by market value. The bank, headquartered in Brasília, was founded in 1808 and is the oldest active bank in Brazil — and one of the oldest financial institutions in the world.Banco do Brasil is controlled...

  • Banco Bradesco
    Banco Bradesco
    Bradesco is one of the Big Four banks in Brazil, the others being Banco do Brasil, Itaú Unibanco and CEF. Bradesco was the largest private bank in Brazil until Banco Itaú and Unibanco merged in 2009. Bradesco is headquartered in Osasco, has 3,945 branches and 38,772 Automatic Teller Machines...

  • Caixa Econômica Federal
    Caixa Econômica Federal
    Caixa Econômica Federal , also referred to as Caixa or CEF, is a Brazilian bank. It is the largest government-owned financial institution in Latin America. It is the largest bank in Brazil and in Latin America by assets....

  • Itaú Unibanco

China

During the 1920s the term “Big Four” applied to the Four Northern Banks
Four Northern Banks
Four Northern Banks referred to the four most capitalized commercial banks in the north of the Yangtze River in the Republic of China in the 1920s, in contrast to the Three Southern Banks of Southern China....

 of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 (i.e. the four most capitalized commercial banks in Northern China
Northern and southern China
Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...

). These were the Yien Yieh Commercial Bank
Yien Yieh Commercial Bank
Yien Yieh Commercial Bank was a bank in Hong Kong. It was established in Beijing in 1915 by Mr. Zhang Zhenfang , the cousin of Yuan Shikai, to specialize salt industry with official funds under government supervision...

, the Kincheng Banking Corporation
Kincheng Banking Corporation
Kincheng Banking Corporation or Kincheng Bank was a bank in Hong Kong. It was established in Tianjin in 1917 by Mr. Zhou Zuomin , Mr. Ni Sichong and Mr. Wang Zhilong...

, the Continental Bank
Continental Bank
Continental Bank was a bank in China. It specialized in savings, warehouses, trusts and real estate business. It was founded in Tianjin in 1919 by Mr. Feng Guozhang, the acting president of Republic of China and Mr. Tan Lisun, the former Nanjing director of Bank of China. Half-month later, a...

 and the China & South Sea Bank. These were contrasted with the Three Southern Banks
Three Southern Banks
Three Southern Banks referred to the three most capitalized commercial banks in the south of Yangtze River in the Republic of China in the 1920s, in contrast to the Four Northern Banks of Northern China...

 of Southern China
Northern and southern China
Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...

.

By 1949 the Big Four were the Bank of China
Bank of China
Bank of China Limited is one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 1912 by the Government of the Republic of China, to replace the Government Bank of Imperial China. It is the oldest bank in China...

, the Bank of Communications
Bank of Communications
Bank of Communications Limited , founded in 1908, is one of the largest banks in China.-Before 1949:The Bank of Communications was founded in 1908 and emerged as one of the first few major national and note-issuing banks in the early days of the Republic of China...

, the Central Bank of China
Central Bank of China
The Central Bank of the Republic of China , known in English from 1924 to 2007 as the Central Bank of China, is the central bank of the Republic of China . Its legal and common name in Chinese is literally translated as the "Central Bank"...

 and the Farmers Bank of China
Farmers Bank of China
The Farmers Bank of China was one of the largest banks in China and later in Taiwan.-History:The Farmers Bank of China was founded on April 1, 1933 in Hankou from the amalgamation of provincial agricultural banks in Henan, Hubei, Anhui and Jiangxi...

.

Currently, in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, the Big Four banks ("四大商业银行") are:
  • Bank of China
    Bank of China
    Bank of China Limited is one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 1912 by the Government of the Republic of China, to replace the Government Bank of Imperial China. It is the oldest bank in China...

  • China Construction Bank
    China Construction Bank
    China Construction Bank is one of the 'big four' banks in the People's Republic of China. To date, it is ranked as the nation's second largest and the second largest bank in the world by market capitalization and 12th largest company in the world. The bank has approximately 13,629 domestic branches...

  • Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
    Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
    Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. is the largest bank in the world by profit and market capitalization. It is one China's 'Big Four' state-owned commercial banks .It was founded as a limited company on January 1, 1984...

  • Agricultural Bank of China
    Agricultural Bank of China
    Agricultural Bank of China Limited , also known as AgBank, is one of the "Big Four" banks in the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 1951, and has its headquarters in Beijing...


and have been described as such in the western press.

Czech Republic

Figures about the four largest banks in the Czech Republic are often reported on together in the media. (Uniquely in Europe, Czech Republic has no indigenous Czech banks; three of these four are incumbents from communist times, now bought by foreign banks; Unicredit is a new entrant on the post-communist Czech banking market.)
  • Komerční banka
    Komercní banka
    Komerční banka is one of the main banks in the Czech Republic. It serves about 1.5 million customers in more than 350 branches.The bank was founded in 1990 following separation of commercial activities from the former Státní banka československá . In 1992, the bank was partially privatized in...

  • Česká spořitelna
  • Unicredit
    UniCredit
    UniCredit SpA is an Italy-based, pan-European banking organization, with aprox 40 million customers and operations in 22 countries.- Geography :...

  • ČSOB

India

In India, the four largest competitors consist of 2 state owned commercial banks and 2 private sector banks.
  • State Bank of India
    State Bank of India
    The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...

  • ICICI Bank
    ICICI Bank
    ICICI Bank Ltd. is India's second largest financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of...

  • Punjab National Bank
    Punjab National Bank
    Punjab National Bank , was founded in 1894 and is currently the second largest state-owned commercial bank in India ahead of Bank of Baroda with about 5000 branches across 764 cities. It serves over 37 million customers. The bank has been ranked 248th biggest bank in the world by the Bankers...

  • HDFC Bank
    HDFC Bank
    HDFC Bank Limited is a major Indian financial services company based in India, incorporated in August 1994, after the Reserve Bank of India allowed establishing private sector banks. The Bank was promoted by the Housing Development Finance Corporation, a premier housing finance company of India...


Korea

In Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, the Big Four are usually referred to in the media as the Four Heaven Gods of the banking industry. (4대 천황).. They are:
  • Kookmin Bank
    Kookmin Bank
    KB Kookmin Bank or KB is the largest bank by both asset value and market capitalization in South Korea.The bank is led by Kang Chung-Won who previously worked for Seoulbank and oversaw its sale to competitor Hana Bank before moving to Kookmin.Kookmin intended to take over Korea Exchange Bank, a...

     (Usually shortened as "KB Bank", called as "KB Kookmin Bank" in Korean (케이비국민은행))
  • Woori Bank
    Woori Bank
    Woori Bank is a bank headquartered in Seoul, Korea. The bank changed its name in 2002, and includes the former Commercial Bank of Korea, Hanil Bank, and Peace Bank. It was known from 1999 through 2002 as Hanvit Bank...

     (After a merger between the Commercial Bank, Pyeonghwa Bank, Hanil Bank. Formerly known as Hanvit Bank)
  • Shinhan Bank
    Shinhan Bank
    Shinhan Bank , is a bank, headquartered in Seoul, Korea. Historically it was the first bank in Korea, established under the name Hanseong Bank in 1897. The bank was reestablished in 1982. It is part of the Shinhan Financial Group, along with Jeju Bank...

     (Merged with Chohung Bank)
  • Hana Bank (Merger with Choongchung and acquisition of Seoul Bank in 1999 and 2002 respectively)

^Another major bank, Korea First Bank was bought out by the Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered PLC is a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom with operations in more than seventy countries...

 in 2005. The fifth largest bank is Korea Exchange Bank
Korea Exchange Bank
Korea Exchange Bank is a specialized foreign exchange bank in South Korea. It is headquartered in Seoul, and was established in 1967.Korea Exchange Bank is the fifth largest bank in South Korea measured in assets and the largest foreign exchange bank in South Korea, providing the largest range of...

.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, the "big four" banks,. the largest competitors in the country's banking sector, are:
  • Maybank
    Maybank
    Maybank , a trade name for Malayan Banking Berhad is the largest bank and financial group in Malaysia, with significant banking operations in Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. The bank also has large interests in Islamic banking through Maybank Islamic Berhad and insurance via its Etiqa...

     (Malayan Banking Berhad)
  • CIMB
    CIMB
    CIMB Group CIMB Group is a regional universal bank operating in high growth economies in ASEAN. CIMB Group has the widest retail branch network across the region and is an indigenous ASEAN investment bank....

     (CIMB Bank Berhad, fully owned by CIMB Group - a government link company)
  • Public Bank
    Public Bank
    Public Bank Berhad is a bank based in Malaysia. Public Bank is currently the biggest domestic bank in Malaysia by shareholders' funds. It focuses on retail customers and small to medium sized enterprises. The bank was founded in 1966 by Teh Hong Piow, the then general manager of Malayan Banking...

     (Public Bank Berhad, founder by Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow
    Teh Hong Piow
    Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr. Teh Hong Piow , the Chairman of Public Bank Berhad in Malaysia, was born in Singapore on 14 March 1930. He attended his formal primary and secondary education at the Anglo-Chinese School in Singapore...

    )
  • Hong Leong Bank
    Hong Leong Bank
    Hong Leong Bank is a bank in Malaysia.Hong Leong Bank was founded by Mr LAM Ji Chiew and began its operations in 1905 in Kuching, Sarawak under the name of Kwong Lee Mortgage & Remittance Company. The company granted loans against the security of export commodities such as pepper, rubber and other...

     (Hong Leong Bank Berhad, fully owned by Hong Leong Group). Hong Leong Bank became the fourth largest bank in Malaysia after completed acquisition of EON Bank
    Eon bank
    EON Capital Berhad is a company listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia on 23 December 2002. It is the holding company of EON Bank Group...

     Berhad.


More often, in Malaysia, the phrase big five is used instead of big four, in which the fifth bank is RHB Bank
RHB Bank
RHB Bank Berhad is a bank based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It specializes in commercial banking, corporate and investment banking and international banking services...

 (fifth largest in assets).

Pakistan

In Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, the "big four" banks,. the largest competitors in the country's banking sector
Banking in Pakistan
Banking in Pakistan first formally started in Pakistan during the period of British colonialisation in the South Asia. After independence from British Raj in 1947, and the emergence of Pakistan as a country in the globe, the scope of banking in Pakistan has been increasing and expanding continuously...

, are:
  • HBL Pakistan
  • National Bank of Pakistan
    National Bank of Pakistan
    National Bank of Pakistan is one of the largest commercial bank operating in Pakistan. It has redefined its role and has moved from a public sector organisation into a modern commercial bank...

  • United Bank Limited Pakistan
  • MCB Bank Limited (fourth largest in assets)


More often, in Pakistan, the phrase big five is used instead of big four, in which the fifth bank is Allied Bank Limited
Allied Bank Limited
Allied Bank with its Registered Offices in Karachi and Lahore is one of the largest banks within the country with 805 Branches connected to an online network. It was the first Muslim Bank Established in Pakistan before Partition with the name of Australasia Bank...

.

South Africa

In South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, the big four are, according to this site:
  • FirstRand Bank (operators of First National Bank)
  • Absa Group (owned by Barclays)
  • Standard Bank
    Standard Bank
    The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited is one of South Africa's largest financial services groups. It operates in 30 countries around the world, including 17 in Africa.-History:...

  • Nedbank
    Nedbank
    Nedbank is one of the largest banks in South Africa; however it is one of the newest banks to be incorporated in South Africa. It is headquartered in Johannesburg...

     (owned by Old Mutual
    Old Mutual
    Old Mutual plc is an international long-term savings group. Established in 1845 in South Africa, it is now a FTSE100 listed company operating in 33 countries.-History:...

    )

Sweden

In Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 the big four. are referred to as "storbanker", literally big banks in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...

.
  • Handelsbanken
    Handelsbanken
    Svenska Handelsbanken AB is a Swedish bank.-History of Svenska Handelsbanken:The history of Svenska Handelsbanken goes back to 1871 when a number of prominent companies and individuals in Stockholm's business world founded Stockholms Handelsbank...

  • Nordea
    Nordea
    Nordea Bank AB is a Stockholm-based financial services group operating in Northern Europe. The bank is the result of the successive mergers and acquisitions of the Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian banks of Nordbanken, Merita Bank, Unibank and Kreditkassen that took place between 1997 and 2000...

  • Swedbank
    Swedbank
    Swedbank AB is a leading Nordic-Baltic banking group with 9.5 million retail customers and 534,000 corporate customers in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In Sweden, the group has 377 branches. In the Baltic countries, it has another 224 branches...

  • Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken
    Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken
    Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB is a Swedish financial group for corporate customers, institutions and private individuals with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Its activities comprise mainly banking services, but SEB also carries out significant life insurance operations and also owns Eurocard...


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:
  • Barclays PLC;
  • HSBC Holdings plc
    HSBC
    HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...

    ;
  • Lloyds Banking Group plc
    Lloyds Banking Group
    Lloyds Banking Group plc is a major British financial institution, formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. As at February 2010, HM Treasury held a 41% shareholding through UK Financial Investments Limited . The Group headquarters is located at 25 Gresham Street in London, with...

    ; and
  • The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc.


During most of the 20th century, the phrase "Big Four banks" referred to the four largest UK clearing banks (institutions which act as clearing houses
Clearing house (finance)
A clearing house is a financial institution that provides clearing and settlement services for financial and commodities derivatives and securities transactions...

 for bankers cheque
Cheque
A cheque is a document/instrument See the negotiable cow—itself a fictional story—for discussions of cheques written on unusual surfaces. that orders a payment of money from a bank account...

s), which were:
  • Barclays Bank (part of Barclays PLC);
  • Midland Bank
    Midland Bank
    Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836...

     (now HSBC Bank plc
    HSBC Bank (Europe)
    HSBC Bank plc is one of the four major clearing banks in the United Kingdom and is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings. The business ranges from the traditional High Street roles of personal finance and commercial banking, to private banking, consumer finance as well as corporate and...

     and part of HSBC Holdings plc);
  • Lloyds Bank
    Lloyds Bank
    Lloyds Bank Plc was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1765 until its merger into Lloyds TSB in 1995; it remains a registered company but is currently dormant. It expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies...

     (now Lloyds TSB Bank Plc
    Lloyds TSB
    Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...

    , itself now part of Lloyds Banking Group plc); and
  • National Westminster Bank
    National Westminster Bank
    National Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is the largest retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom and has been part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc since 2000. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is ranked as the second largest bank in the world by assets...

     ("NatWest") (now part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).

United States

In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the "big four" banks hold 39% of all U.S. customer deposits (as of 2009), and consist of:
  • Bank of America
    Bank of America
    Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...

  • Citigroup
    Citigroup
    Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...

    , through its Citibank
    Citibank
    Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...

     subsidiary
  • JPMorgan Chase, through its Chase
    Chase (bank)
    JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...

     subsidiary
  • Wells Fargo
    Wells Fargo
    Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...



By a retail banking
Retail banking
Retail banking is banking in which banking institutions execute transactions directly with consumers, rather than corporations or other banks. Services offered include: savings and transactional accounts, mortgages, personal loans, debit cards, credit cards, and so forth.-Types of...

 perspective, U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp is a diversified financial services holding company, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States based on $330 billion in assets. U.S. Bank ranks as the sixth largest bank in the U.S. based on...

 and PNC Financial Services
PNC Financial Services
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is a U.S.-based financial services corporation, with assets of approximately $264.3 billion...

 both have more branches than Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...

, the retail banking arm of Citigroup. However, Citibank still has significantly more assets than U.S. Bancorp and PNC.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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