1.UBS AG , Zurich, Switzerland
UBS AG is the world's biggest manager of other people's money. The bank's asset stood at $1,963.227 billion as in January 2008.
Present in major financial centres worldwide, UBS has offices in 50 countries. The bank had 81,557 employees on June 30, 2007. It originated in 1747, with its maiden branch coming up in the Swiss region of Valposchiavo.
The new UBS evolved out of a merger of the Union Bank of Switzerland and the Swiss Bank Corporation in June 1998. The merged bank's new name was originally supposed to be the United Bank of Switzerland. But it had to be named UBS as the proposed name clashed with United Bank Switzerland.
Marcel Opel is the bank's chairman of the board of directors, its executive vice chairman is Marco Suter, and the group CEO is Marcel Rohner. The bank's main competitors are Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse etc.
2.Barclays PLC is a major bank operating in Europe, the United States, West Asia, Latin America, Australia, Asia and Africa. It operates through its subsidiary Barclays Bank PLC.
The bank has registered assets worth $1,951.041 billion. It is also the sponsor of the English Premier League. Forbes Global 2000 ranked Barclays PLC as the 18th largest company in the world in 2007.
The bank's roots can be traced back to 1690 in London. It borrowed its name from Alexander and David Barclay, who provided credit to slave traders. The bank is headed by Marcus Agius, the group chairman.
Barclays being a member of the global ATM Alliance, its customers can use ATMs of other banks free of charge.
3.BNP Paribas is a major European bank. It was created on May 23, 2000 through the merger of Banque Nationale de Paris and Paribas. As on January 31, the bank's assets stood at $1,899.186 billion.
It's history can be traced back to 1869, when a group of bankers and investors, including Adrien Delahante, Edmond Joubert and Henri Cernuschi, founded the Banque de Paris.
The bank employs 162,700 people and operates in 87 countries. The bank is active in the finance, investment and asset management markets.
4.The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Edinburgh, UK, is the largest banking group in Scotland and the fifth largest in the world by market capitalisation. As on January 31, the bank's assets stood at $1,705.680 billion.
The bank originated from the Equivalent Society set up by investors in the bankrupt Company of Scotland. The Society was formed to protect the compensation the investors received as part of the arrangements of the 1707 Acts of Union.
Controversy has dogged the bank off and on. It has been infamously dubbed 'Oil Bank of Scotland' by environmentalists as it provides finance for the fossil fuel industry, thereby causing global warming.
In 2001, the bank received threats for having financed animal testing company Huntingdon Life Sciences. As a direct fallout of this, RBS withdrew the company's overdraft facility.
5.Credit Agricole SA is the largest retail banking group in France and the eighth largest in the world, according to The Banker magazine. On January 31, the bank's assets stood at $1,663.101 billion
Through its subsidiaries, Credit Agricole SA is involved in the following services:
Retail banking International retail banking Specialised financial services Asset management, insurance and private banking Corporate and investment Banking The banks' varied activities are supervised by Rene Carron, the bank's chairman.
Comments :
Post a Comment