In this article we are going to list the 16 largest financial services companies in the world. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 5 largest financial services companies in the world.
Before I go into details about the financial services industry, let’s first take a look at what being a financial services company means. A financial services company refers to a financial company which provides economic services. This can include a range of things such as banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, accountancy companies, credit unions, stock brokerages, investment funds and consumer finance companies among others. The finance sector is basically what makes the world go around; it is estimated that the financial services sector will be worth approximately $22.5 trillion dollars by 2022, which is a staggering number and is quite difficult to comprehend even.
The financial services sector has seen a lot of ups and downs over the decades with perhaps one of its biggest downs coming in the global recession 10 years ago, which saw many large and historically significant companies within the industry go bust and having to file for bankruptcy. A major rebuilding has taken place since, which has ensured that the current situation of the industry is much better than it was a little over a decade ago. Meanwhile, the industry has also adapted to the latest technologies available, which are the primary mediums used by the new generations and many companies have established a significant digital presence. If we talk about market capitalization, then just the banking sector currently worth around $7.9 trillion right now.
Without a sound financial system, no country can develop or grow economically, which basically means that a country cannot prosper without a stringent and extensive financial sector, and this isn’t just my belief, these are the beliefs of the World Bank as well. Further, tapping into capital markets is essential to attract further resources and additional financing, which itself may be quite extensive. When there is financial stability, jobs are plentiful and productivity is improved. Money flows to where it is most required in an efficient system, which is perhaps the most important thing. This in turn helps achieve a higher standard of living for the country as the people have what they require and basic necessities are fulfilled, further helping to level the playing field and ensuring that it allows betterment for everyone rather than just a few select individuals.
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However, even though a lot of advancements have been made in the financial services industry, it has been quite hard hit with the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen over 60 million cases and around 1.4 million deaths. As governments went into lockdown to prevent further spread, many industries suffered greatly while investors withdrew their money from stock markets as uncertainty prevailed. This led to some terrible market crashes in March 2020, when lockdowns were enforced and gold prices rose simultaneously since gold is considered to be a much safer investment. Even though multiple vaccines are in the works, the pandemic is not even close to its end and what the final impact will be, only time will tell. Most countries are in a recession; every advanced country is in either a recession or a depression, while every emerging economy is currently facing a recession. Current estimates suggest that economic recovery will only be achieved by 2025.
The biggest financial services companies are also some of the biggest companies in the world. In fact, according to Fortune 500 Global, there are 121 financial companies alone in the top 500 companies in the world by revenue. We have used the same list as a source, using revenue, profit, assets and employees as metrics, giving higher weightage to the latter two as they seem more prudent in indicating the size of a company. The combined assets of these companies are worth over $36 trillion (with some companies owning trillions of dollars of assets alone) while revenues exceed over $2 trillion and profits exceed $385 billion. These assets are more than what most countries own, as can be seen in the list of 16 wealthiest countries in the world ranked by financial assets. As you would expect, a lot of these companies are either from the US or China, though Chinese giants are mostly state-owned and hence, have little competition or dearth of money. Of the 16 companies in the list, 5 are from China, 6 are from the US, 4 are from Europe while one is from Japan. So let’s take a look at the giants running this world, starting with number 16:
16. AXA
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 148,984
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 4,317
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 876,457
Total employees in 2019: 99,483
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Axa is a French insurance company and is headquartered in Paris, and is one of the oldest companies in our list, being 204 years old currently.
15. Allianz
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 130,359
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 8,858
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,134,954
Total employees in 2019: 147,268
Headquartered in Munich, Germany is Allianz, it used to be the largest financial services company in the world. It is the oldest company in this list, at 130 years old. The company has nearly 5,000 employees and over $130 billion in revenue.
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14. Citigroup (NYSE:C)
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 103,449
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 19,401
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,951,158
Total employees in 2019: 200,000
One of the Big Four banks of America is Citigroup, and is the first major bank on Wall Street about to hire a woman CEO. The company has over 200 million customers and business in over 160 countries.
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13. EXOR Group
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 162,754
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 3,417
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 193,739
Total employees in 2019: 268,979
Exor Group is an Italian holding company with revenues crossing $162 billion and is one of the largest groups in the world by revenue, regardless of industry.
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12. Fannie Mae (OTCQB:FNMA)
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 120,304
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 14,160
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 3,503,319
Total employees in 2019: 7,500
The Federal National Mortgage Association was founded in 1938 during the Great Depression and is a government sponsored enterprise and has become one of the biggest financial services companies in the world.
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11. HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HSBC)
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 98,673
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 7,383
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 2,715,152
Total employees in 2019: 235,351
HSCBC is a British investment bank and the largest one in all of Europe, having 3,900 offices in 65 countries and has over 38 million customers. The company has attracted a lot of controversy over the years including accusations of enabling money laundering and supporting China’s controversial Security Law for Hong Kong.
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10. Japan Post Holdings
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 109,915
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 4,449
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 2,647,344
Total employees in 2019: 245,472
One of the most recent companies in the list is Japan Post Holding having only been founded 14 years ago in 2006, and yet already has $2.6 trillion in assets, and over $100 billion of revenue.
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9. Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 103,915
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 19,549
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,927,555
Total employees in 2019: 259,800
Wells Fargo is the third biggest bank in the US, and has been in the news several years recently for creating over 2 million fake bank accounts and manipulation of existing accounts by employees, because of which t moved down from being the biggest bank in the world, even ahead of the Chinese banks.
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8. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 113,589
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 27,430
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 2,434,079
Total employees in 2019: 208,131
The second largest bank in the US was founded in 1956, and while headquartered in North Carolina in the US, also has major hubs present in London, Dallas, Hong Kong, Toronto and New York City. Approximately 10.73% of all bank deposits are services by the Bank of America.
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7. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM)
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 142,422
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 36,431
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 2,687,379
Total employees in 2019: 256,981
JPMorgan Chase is one of the biggest financial services companies in the US, second only to Berkshire Hathaway, and is considered to be the biggest bank in the US, having assets of over $2.6 trillion. The bank is considered to be among the Big Four banks of America, and the biggest even among them. The bank also holds an incredible $27.4 trillion in assets under custody. The company, as most big banks are expected to do, has been engaged in several controversies which include conflicts of interest in investment research, its part in the Enron scandal where it ended up paying over $2 billion in fines, failure to comply with client money rules in the UK, overcharging mortgage of active military personnel, involvement in the Madoff fraud and many other controversies from which it has emerged largely unscathed, as most big banks tend to do.
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6. Ping An Insurance
Total revenue in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 184,280
Total profit in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 21,627
Total assets in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,180,489
Total employees in 2019: 372,194
Ping An Insurance is a holding conglomerate based of course in China, and owns subsidiaries which are involved in banking, financial services and insurance. The company was founded 32 years ago in 1988 and is said to be the biggest insurer in China, having had $107 billion in gross premium income back in 2018. It was the first insurance company from China selected in the 2019 Dow Jones Sustainability Emerging Markets Index, underscoring its important in the financial world.
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Disclosure: No positions. 16 Largest Financial Services Companies in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.
