The table below is a list of the top 100 banks in the world measured by total assets. Three of the top 5 largest banks are UK financial institutions. With assets of over US$3.5 trillion, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is the largest bank in the world. RBS was founded in 1727 and is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
| Rank | Bank | Country | Total assets ($b) | Balance sheet |
| 1 | Royal Bank of Scotland Group | UK | 3,514.58 | 31.12.2008 |
| 2 | Barclays | UK | 3,004.33 | 31.12.2008 |
| 3 | Deutsche Bank | Germany | 2,895.50 | 31.12.2008 |
| 4 | BNP Paribas | France | 2,729.23 | 31.12.2008 |
| 5 | HSBC | UK | 2,527.47 | 31.12.2008 |
| 6 | JP Morgan Chase | US | 2,175.05 | 31.12.2008 |
| 7 | Credit Agricole | France | 2,173.89 | 31.12.2008 |
| 8 | Citigroup | US | 1,938.47 | 31.12.2008 |
| 9 | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial | Japan | 1,922.18 | 31.03.2008 |
| 10 | ING Group | Netherlands | 1,858.31 | 31.12.2008 |
| 11 | Bank of America | US | 1,817.94 | 31.12.2008 |
| 12 | UBS | Switzerland | 1,740.27 | 31.12.2008 |
| 13 | Mizuho Financial | Japan | 1,537.92 | 31.03.2008 |
| 14 | Societe Generale | France | 1,485.89 | 31.12.2008 |
| 15 | Banco Santander (1) | Spain | 1,464.74 | 31.12.2008 |
| 16 | UniCredit | Italy | 1,459.1 | 31.12.2008 |
| 17 | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) | China | 1,425.72 | 31.12.2008 |
| 18 | Wells Fargo | US | 1,309.64 | 31.12.2008 |
| 19 | China Construction Bank | China | 1,104.01 | 31.12.2008 |
| 20 | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial | Japan | 1,115.06 | 31.03.2008 |
| 21 | Bank of China | China | 1,015.79 | 31.12.2008 |
| 22 | Credit Suisse | Switzerland | 1,010.32 | 31.12.2008 |
| 23 | HBOS | UK | 1,004.25 | 31.12.2008 |
| 24 | Dexia Group | Belgium | 908.457 | 31.12.2008 |
| 25 | Commerzbank AG | Germany | 872.453 | 31.12.2008 |
| 26 | Rabobank | Netherlands | 854.173 | 31.12.2008 |
| 27 | Intesa Sanpaolo | Italy | 836.479 | 31.12.2008 |
| 28 | Natixis | France | 775.607 | 31.12.2008 |
| 29 | BBVA | Spain | 713.554 | 31.12.2008 |
| 30 | Danske Bank | Denmark | 664.137 | 31.12.2008 |
| 31 | Lloyds Banking Group | UK | 638.091 | 31.12.2008 |
| 32 | Landesbank Baden-Württemberg | Germany | 625.035 | 31.12.2008 |
| 33 | Nordea Bank | Sweden | 623.380 | 31.12.2008 |
| 34 | Banque Federative du Credit Mutuel | France | 593.390 | 31.12.2008 |
| 35 | Royal Bank Canada | Canada | 589.775 | 31.10.2008 |
| 36 | Bayerische Landesbank | Germany | 588.426 | 31.12.2008 |
| 37 | KfW Bankengruppe | Germany | 550.935 | 31.12.2008 |
| 38 | KBC Group | Belgium | 495.837 | 31.12.2008 |
| 39 | National Australia Bank | Australia | 470.741 | 30.09.2008 |
| 40 | Toronto Dominion Bank | Canada | 468.330 | 31.10.2008 |
| 41 | National Westminster Bank | UK | 467.568 | 31.12.2008 |
| 42 | Dresdner Bank AG | Germany | 460.102 | 31.12.2008 |
| 43 | Standard Chartered | UK | 435.068 | 31.12.2008 |
| 44 | Bank of Nova Scotia | Canada | 422.106 | 31.10.2008 |
| 45 | Resona Holdings | Japan | 397.559 | 31.03.2008 |
| 46 | Bank of Communications | China | 392.034 | 31.12.2008 |
| 47 | Banque Populaire Group | France | 367.298 | 31.12.2008 |
| 48 | DZ BANK AG | Germany | 361.708 | 31.12.2008 |
| 49 | Commonwealth Bank of Australia | Australia | 349.453 | 30.06.2008 |
| 50 | Bank of Montreal | Canada | 338.983 | 31.10.2008 |
| 51 | ANZ Banking | Australia | 337.593 | 30.09.2008 |
| 52 | Deutsche Postbank AG | Germany | 322.749 | 31.12.2008 |
| 53 | Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) | Sweden | 320.155 | 31.12.2008 |
| 54 | Bank of Ireland | Ireland | 311.656 | 31.03.2008 |
| 55 | Westpac Banking | Australia | 315.033 | 30.09.2008 |
| 56 | Banca Monte Dei Paschi | Italy | 298.348 | 31.12.2008 |
| 57 | PNC Financial Services | US | 291.081 | 31.12.2008 |
| 58 | Itau Unibanco | Brazil | 290.080 | 31.12.2008 |
| 59 | CIBC | Canada | 288.370 | 31.10.2008 |
| 60 | Erste Group | Austria | 281.107 | 31.12.2008 |
| 61 | Svenska Handelsbanken | Sweden | 275.247 | 31.12.2008 |
| 62 | U.S. Bancorp | US | 265.912 | 31.12.2008 |
| 63 | DnB NOR | Norway | 263.243 | 31.12.2008 |
| 64 | Fortis Bank Nederland | Netherlands | 257.051 | 31.12.2008 |
| 65 | Allied Irish Banks (AIB) | Ireland | 254.177 | 31.12.2008 |
| 66 | Banco Brasil | Brazil | 238.982 | 31.12.2008 |
| 67 | Bank of New York Mellon | US | 237.512 | 31.12.2008 |
| 68 | Swedbank | Sweden | 230.992 | 31.12.2008 |
| 69 | China Merchants Bank | China | 230.20 | 31.12.2008 |
| 70 | Raiffeisen Banking Group (RZB Group) | Germany | 218.980 | 31.12.2008 |
| 71 | Bradesco | Brazil | 208.330 | 31.12.2008 |
| 72 | State Bank of India | India | 205.482 | 31.03.2008 |
| 73 | Landesbank Berlin (LBB) | Germany | 202.862 | 31.12.2008 |
| 74 | Sberbank of Russia | Russia | 199.069 | 31.12.2008 |
| 75 | China CITIC Bank | China | 193.30 | 31.12.2008 |
| 76 | Shanghai Pudong Dev Bank | China | 191.80 | 31.12.2008 |
| 77 | SunTrust Banks | US | 189.138 | 31.12.2008 |
| 78 | State Street | US | 173.631 | 31.12.2008 |
| 79 | SNS Reaal | Netherlands | 173.617 | 31.12.2008 |
| 80 | UBI Banca | Italy | 170.187 | 31.12.2008 |
| 81 | DBS Group | Singapore | 169.264 | 31.12.2008 |
| 82 | Capital One | US | 165.878 | 31.12.2008 |
| 83 | Standard Bank Group | South Africa | 165.230 | 31.12.2008 |
| 84 | Citizens Financial (2) | US | 159.925 | 31.12.2008 |
| 85 | China Minsheng Banking | China | 154.40 | 31.12.2008 |
| 86 | Banco Popular Espanol | Spain | 154.027 | 31.12.2008 |
| 87 | BB&T Corp. | US | 152.01 | 31.12.2008 |
| 88 | Industrial Bank | China | 149.50 | 31.12.2008 |
| 89 | BOC Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 148.049 | 31.12.2008 |
| 90 | Regions Financial | US | 146.248 | 31.12.2008 |
| 91 | National Bank of Greece | Greece | 142.114 | 31.12.2008 |
| 92 | Banco Comercial Português (BCP) | Portugal | 131.766 | 31.12.2008 |
| 93 | VTB Bank | Russia | 125.120 | 31.12.2008 |
| 94 | Fifth Third Bancorp | US | 119.764 | 31.12.2008 |
| 95 | EFG Eurobank Ergasias | Greece | 114.711 | 31.12.2008 |
| 96 | Banco Sabadell | Spain | 112.166 | 31.12.2008 |
| 97 | Espírito Santo Financial Group (ESFG) | Portugal | 109.056 | 31.12.2008 |
| 98 | KeyCorp | US | 104.531 | 31.12.2008 |
| 99 | Caja Mediterraneo (CAM) | Spain | 100.403 | 31.12.2008 |
| 100 | Hang Seng Bank | Hong Kong | 98.356 | 31.12.2008 |
| 101 | Alpha Bank | Greece | 91.083 | 31.12.2008 |
| 102 | Northern Trust | US | 82.054 | 31.12.2008 |
| 103 | IKB Deutsche Industriebank | Germany | 79.280 | 31.03.2008 |
| 104 | Volksbank AG | Austria | 77.889 | 31.12.2008 |
| 105 | Piraeus Bank | Greece | 76.598 | 31.12.2008 |
| 106 | Bankinter | Spain | 74.614 | 31.12.2008 |
| 107 | Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna | Italy | 73.642 | 31.12.2008 |
| 108 | UnionBanCal | US | 70.121 | 31.12.2008 |
| 109 | Comerica | US | 67.548 | 31.12.2008 |
| 110 | M&T Bank | US | 65.816 | 31.12.2008 |
| 111 | Hudson City Bancorp | US | 54.150 | 31.12.2008 |
| 112 | Banca Popolare di Milano | Italy | 53.094 | 31.12.2008 |
| 113 | Charles Schwab | US | 51.670 | 31.12.2008 |
| 114 | Samba Financial Group | Saudi Arabia | 47.693 | 31.12.2008 |
| 115 | Al Rahji Bank | Saudi Arabia | 43.593 | 30.09.2008 |
(1) - In December 2008, Banco Real and Alliance & Leicester were incorporated.
(2) - Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Scotland Group.