Largest European banks 2023, by assets
Total assets is one of the main measures of a bank's prosperity. It is defined as all assets owned by a bank. This includes, but is not limited to cash and balances, loans and advances to banks and customers, as well as debt securities. As of 2023, HSBC Holdings was the leading European bank in terms of total assets, with more than 2.9 trillion U.S. dollars. In 2023, HSBC was also among the largest banks globally in terms of market capitalization.
BNP Paribas SA
The total assets of BNP Paribas SA increased steadily since 2017, and the Paris headquartered bank was the second-largest bank in Europe at the end of 2023, with total assets amounting to over 2.8 trillion U.S. dollars. Overall, the leading 10 banks included two UK banks, five French banks and one bank from Germany, Spain, and Italy.
Market capitalization
Rankings of banks can be constructed using a multitude of indicators. Frequently employed to determine the size of a bank, is market capitalization, or the total dollar market value of a company's or bank's outstanding shares. Market capitalization is calculated from the current market price of one share and the number of shares outstanding for a company.