Two of China’s largest banking groups have entered a ranking of the world’s largest private banks for the first time on the back of rapid asset growth, despite big falls in assets at most of their international competitors. Accord to the Financial Times, Beijing-headquartered ICBC, the second-largest bank globally, and Shenzhen-based China Merchants Bank, one of the country’s biggest commercial lenders, now rank 23rd and 21st respectively in a list of the world’s 25 largest private banks. China Merchants Bank’s private banking assets surged 66.4% to $192.9bn last year, enabling it to overtake BNY Mellon, the New York-headquartered financial group, French lender Crédit Agricole and Lombard Odier, the Swiss private bank, in the table. ICBC recorded a 35.9% increase in its private banking assets last year, to $154bn.|
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