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Global Finance selects the world's safest banks-the 50 institutions with the highest ratings from the leading international credit ratings agencies-and the safest banks in seven regions.
It is a measure of how much stability has returned to the global banking industry that this year's list of the world's 50 safest banks is remarkably similar to last year's. Bar a bit of jockeying for position, the safest 20 banks remain practically the same as a year ago. Within the top 20 there has been some shufflings - for example, a pair of downgrades served to knock BNP Paribas out of the top 10 and down to 18th place.
Rentenbank, a perennial feature at the top of the safest banks list, attributes its longstanding trio of triple-A ratings to its government backing - a characteristic shared by several of the world's safest banks. "The backing by the Federal Republic of Germany as one of the strongest sovereigns in the world is an extremely valuable asset in times of uncertainty. It underpins the safety and great relative value we offer our investors, says Horst Reinhardt, a member of Rentenbank s board of managing directors.
Topping the table for...