Just 3 U.S. Banks Make Strongest List
NEW YORK-Just three U.S. institutions are among the 20 strongest banks in the world, according to new rankings from Bloomberg Markets magazine. Fifth Third Bancorp (No. 7), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (No. 14) and Citigroup (No. 16) made the list, which ranks institutions with at least $100 billion of assets. It weighs and combines five criteria, including Tier 1 capital compared with risk-weighted assets; nonperforming assets compared with total assets; and efficiency, a comparison of costs against revenues.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. ranked first, one of three Singaporean banks to make the top six. "Singapore banks would score very high here largely because, historically, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has always required Singapore banks to keep more Tier 1 capital than other banks," David Conner, OCBC's chief executive said. Svenska Handelsbanken AB of Sweden was No. 2. Canada figured prominently in the rankings, with National Bank of Canada No. 3, and four other banks in the top 20.
Court Can't Save Vensure FCU
WASHINGTON-A federal judge gave Vensure FCU and NCUA two weeks to file their arguments over the April 15 seizure of the tiny CU embroiled in an international gambling scandal, but by then it may be too late. In three weeks since the takeover, the $4.7-million CU has spent most of its $1.7 million in capital-33%-and is rapidly spending the remaining $213,000 on operating expenses, NCUA said. The agency said it also expects the U.S. Justice Department to seize funds related to its online gambling case, wiping out any capital that may otherwise have survived the next few weeks.
