The Big Four (or Big 4) is the colloquial name given to the four main banks in several countries where the banking industry is dominated by just four institutions and where the phrase has thus gained relevance.[1] Some countries include more or fewer institutions in such rankings, leading to other names such as Big Three, Big Five, or Big Six.
International use
Internationally, the term "Big Four Banks" has traditionally referred to the following central banks:[2]
In Australia, the "big four banks" refers to the four largest banks that have traditionally dominated Australia's banking industry in terms of market share, revenue, and total assets.[3][4] The "big four banks" of Australia are:[5]
According to the National Bank of Cambodia, the top three largest banks in Cambodia dominates 39.1% (The largest bank in term of total asset is Canadia Bank at 14.2%, followed by ACLEDA Bank at 12.7%, in third place Advanced Bank of Asia (ABA) at 12.2%) of the overall banking assets as of 2020. These banks are:[10]
By 1949, the "Big Four" banks were the Bank of China, the Bank of Communications, the Central Bank of China, and the Farmers Bank of China. All four were state-owned. Together with the Central Trust of China, Postal Savings and Remittance Bureau of China, and Central Cooperative Treasury of China, these banks were called the "four banks, two bureaus, one treasury" (四行两局一库).[13]
HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), and Bank of China (Hong Kong) are the three note-issuing banks; Hang Seng and HSBC Hong Kong are both under the common ownership of London-based HSBC Holdings plc. According to Global Retail Banking Cross-sell conducted by RFi group in 2015, HSBC, Bank of China (Hong Kong), and Hang Seng Bank were the top 3 most popular banks in Hong Kong.[20]
In Japan, the term "big three"[26][27] is used instead of "big four". The related term city bank is also sometimes used for these banks. The "big three" are:
Japan had a "big four" between 2002 and 2005 when the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UFJ Japan were still separate entities.[28] The two merged to form Mitsubishi UFJ, now the largest of the three, in 2005.
In Lebanon, where the banks have retained their banking secrecy laws since 1956, which is prevalent in the whole MENA region, and while adopting international measures to fight money laundering, the "big four" banks consist of:[30]
Byblos Bank (founded in 1950 as "Société Commerciale et Agricole Byblos Bassil Frères & Co.")
BLOM Bank: Banque du Liban et d'Outre-Mer S.A.L (founded in 1951)
Fransabank (founded in 1921 as Société Centrale de Banque)
Furthermore, as of September 2016, there are more than 51 banks in Lebanon, one of the smallest countries in the Middle East, a fact that has always made investors from the Arab countries, especially the GCC petrodollar in addition to the European and world investors, to place their funds in the Lebanese banks.
The market leader for the Netherlands, ING Group, is one of the world's largest multinational banking and financial service corporations, with products and services reaching over 41 countries worldwide.[37]
New Zealand
New Zealand is Australia's closest neighbour, with very close cultural and economic ties. The big four Australian banks (often referred to collectively as the 'big banks'[38][39][40] or the 'big Aussie banks') also dominate the banking sector in New Zealand, through subsidiaries:
ANZ Bank New Zealand (ANZ), a subsidiary of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
ASB Bank (ASB), formerly Auckland Savings Bank, a subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Westpac New Zealand (WBC), formerly WestpacTrust, after a merger with Trust Bank, a subsidiary of Westpac Banking Corporation
Together they hold over 90% of gross loans and advances in New Zealand[41] as well as close to 90% of all mortgages.[42]
These four NZ subsidiaries are massively profitable and sometimes even outperform the Australian parent companies.[43] The extent to which they dominate the banking sector can be seen in profits: In the 2012/2013 financial year, the largest of the Big Banks, ANZ New Zealand, made a profit of NZ$1.37 billion. The smallest, BNZ, made a profit of NZ$695 million.[38] State-owned Kiwibank, community trust-owned TSB Bank, SBS Bank (formerly Southland Building Society) and Heartland Bank, the next four largest banks by profit, made NZ$97 million,[44] NZ$73.5 million,[45] NZ$14 million[46] and NZ$7 million (albeit with an underlying result of about NZ$30 million) respectively.[47] Thus, the profit of New Zealand's next four largest banks (after the Big Four) is equal to less than 30% of the smallest of the Big Four, BNZ.
Nigeria
The term "Big Five" is used instead of four, with five banks dominating the Nigerian banking world. In 2011, these top five banks had a combined balance sheet, including contingents, of 12.9 trillion naira ($821 billion), 33 percent higher than the prior year.[48]
The term "Big Four" is not explicitly used in the Philippines. The following are the four largest banks in the country in terms of total assets as of March 2020:[52]
The Romanian banking system has almost 40 banks, most detained by local financial vehicles and some subsidiaries of foreign banks. The big four are as follows.
There was formerly a "big six" (los seis grandes) composed of three banks that are now part of BBVA (Banco de Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, and state-owned Banco Argentaria) and three now combined as Santander (Banco Central, Banco Hispanoamericano, and Banco de Santander).
In 2021, the top three largest state-owned banks held over 37.1% of the market share, while Turkey's top four largest foreign-owned banks dominate 22.9% of the overall market share.[68]
Until 1970, the phrase "big five" (as opposed to "little six")[74] was used to refer to the five largest UK clearing banks (institutions which clear bankers' cheques), which in England and Wales were:
After the merger of Westminster Bank, National Provincial Bank and District Bank to form National Westminster Bank (now part of NatWest Group) in 1970,[75] the term "big four" came into use instead.
United States
In the United States, the "big four" banks hold about 45% of all U.S. customer deposits (as of 2018), and each have assets of roughly $1.7 trillion U.S. dollars. As of 2023, they have combined assets of more than $9.2 trillion.[76] The banks are, in order of size:[77][78]
From a retail banking perspective, U.S. Bank and PNC Bank both have significantly more branches than Citibank, the retail banking arm of Citigroup.[79] However, Citigroup still has significantly more assets than U.S. Bancorp and PNC Financial Services.[80]
Vietnam
In Vietnam, the four major banking groups are:[81]
As of the start of 2024, the big four held VNĐ13.5 quadrillion worth of public deposits (bank liabilities), equivalent to 50% of all bank deposits nationwide. Meanwhile, during the annual year 2023, these banks represented 42% of the outstanding loans (bank credit) that were issued over this period nationwide, a total of VNĐ685 trillion.[82]
^"Anglo Irish Bank Corporation (Executive Summary)". SME Financial. Archived from the original on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012. ...The only banks with higher market capitalisation were Allied Irish Banks (AIB) and Bank of Ireland, with strong retail and commercial presences. Ulster Bank and National Irish Bank are the other members of the 'Big Four' retail and commercial banks, both owned by overseas parents and not listed on the Irish Stock Exchange
^"Banking Market". PricewaterhouseCoopers. Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021. The three largest banks – Komercijalna Banka, Stopanska Banka Skopje (National Bank of Greece is the main shareholder) and NLB Tutunska Banka (NLB Group is the main shareholder) dominate in the banking system, holding together more than 60% of the total market activities.
^Brown, R. A., Capital and Entrepreneurship in South-East Asia: Studies in the Economics of East and South-East Asia (Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1994), pp. 160–169Archived 14 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine.