A Review Of Most Well Known European Banks
With the economy affecting major parts of the world, Europe is not an exception. When the economy hits rock bottom, most of the financial experts turn towards the banks in the given region. Looking at the bank, the controversies, good report, total assets and overall growth is what is majorly considered. The pull that the bank has to the general population is what matters, this is in relation to the number of people who have accounts in the given banks. Another great way that the bankers are using is by engaging in community services, which draw the community members to open accounts with them. Europe is one of the major continents in the world, not in terms of population, but in terms of economic development. The banks play a huge role in this and speaking of banks, the questions come in about the most well known European banks.Information was provided by moneytransfercomparison.com, the experts on money saving with personal finance in the uk. They reviewed the following banks as a part of the process of determining which money transfer services to feature on their website.
Here is a list of the most popular banks in Europe, in relation to their assets and other related information.
1. HSBC Holdings This is the most common bank in Europe and it was founded originally by Thomas Sutherland. It is a multinational banking service and a financial institution that has its headquarters in London, UK. Initially, the Shanghai and Hong Kong Banking Corporation established the HSBC Holdings PLC when in London. The establishment was made in ’91, with an aim of making it a novel holding company. The bank has grown to have over 7,200 branches in 80 countries. The many offices in different countries are among the major factors that contribute to its major growth and its dominance in Europe. Basically, it has over 89million customers with bank accounts, which boost their overall assets to over $2.68 trillion.
A search warrant was handed to the relevant authorities and HSBC was accused in March 2013 of counterfeit receipts and fake accounts. The HSBC was accused of using the items in order to facilitate tax evasion and money laundering. The bank is also advanced and it offers online banking services, which can be found from their official website, www.hsbc.com. Here are some of the top branches of the bank that help boost its assets;
• HSBC Trinkaus and Burkhardt AG – Germany
• HSBC UK, where there are 1,500 branches across Wales and England.
• HSBC France has 800 branches in the country.
• HSBC Bank A.S Turkey. This is the 5th largest nongovernmental bank in Turkey.
• The HSBC Bank Malta is the largest in the country.
2. BNP Paribas The BNP Paribas has been successful in France, despite the shaky economy, this has been steered by the savings account from customers, which amounted to over 10%. In 2012, the bank recorded a high loan report, despite the demand for loans dropping during the given year. The bank is well known in France to be the investors’ favorite, thanks to its friendly rates. The bank has always been dedicated to serving clients with the paramount banking and financial services. Though the bank has been successful, even in the bad economy, it was affected slightly during the drop in interest rate and the reduction in loan demands. The management aims at investing more in digital and technical innovation that will complement the new trends in their customers. It is a bank that has been recognized severally for its outstanding involvement in customer services. Here are 5 of its top branches across Europe;
• BNP Paribas, France: This is the main branch, with over 2,200 offices across France.
• Banque de Bretagne, Brittany, still in France.
• Banca Nazionale de Lovoro – BNL, in Italy.
• Turk Ekonomi Bankasi – TEB, Turkey.
• BNP Paribas Fortis, Germany
The bank also offers amazing online banking from their website, www.bnpparibas.com. It is one of the most reliable and effective financial institutions in Europe.
3. Credit Agricole Group, France The CASA – Credit Agricole Group S.A is believed to be the largest retail banking services organization in France. It stands as the 3rd largest banking and financial services group in Europe and the 8th in the world. It has its headquarters in Paris, France and it also offers assets management and insurance policies. It has assets totaling to about $2.58 trillion. The group has had a number of controversies over the years and in 2007, it was sued for being involved with €250 million that was given out to illegal trading loss at the New York branch.
Its top branches include the CASA – France, CASA Belgium, Luxembourg, UK and Poland. They offer a number of online services at www.credit-agricole.com.
4. Deutsche BankThis is a top bank in Europe that is based in Germany, though the majority of its earnings is not generated in Germany. A report was carried out in 2012 and it was evident that the revenues were slightly higher, with a record of €33.7 billion. The major factor was the enhanced activities from wealth and asset management, corporate banking, securities and global banking. The DB is introducing new centralized governance that is stricter. They also have new regulations for spending, steered reduction in capital demand and making its IT platform more rational. DB has been recognized for its evolution between 2002 and 2012. The bank transformed from a local organization to a multinational financial institution. It was named the Bank of the Year by the International Financing review in ’03, ’05 and 2010.
Some of the top branches are in Portugal, Poland, Belgium, Spain and Italy. Thanks to its advanced services, it offers online banking services, from its official website, https://www.db.com/index_e.htm.
5. Barclays PLCThis is the second largest financial institution in the UK and it is a renowned bank among the top European banks. When Bob Diamond was in control of the bank, it was known for its high bonus and risk trend. It was also reported to be involved in the rigging scandal of Libor. Having its headquarters in London, the bank is a very successful institution. Other than its scandal, the bank is the official sponsor of the English Premier League, the biggest domestic league in England, and the most competitive in the world. The involvement in sports has earned Barclays major profits. In addition, it provides a number of offers to its account holders, which helps to increase its earnings. Antony Jenkins, the new CEO, brought in new strategies, which saw the bank making profits. Another scandal that the bank was involved in was the Apartheid in South Africa, which was the financial source of the entire process. Also, the bank was banned by the Guardian to deprive confidential documents that were leaked to their websites. The documents were describing how the SCM works. Barclays is one of the banks that have many branches in nearly all the continents in the world. Some of the top branches of the bank include the following;
• Barclays Africa, which is among the top performing banks in Africa.
• Barclays Bank plc, this is the retail bank in the UK.
• Barclays Spain, this has over 500 branches in the respective country.
• Absa Group Limited, South Africa, this is another successful financial institution, which sponsors the Rugby national team of South Africa.
• Barclays France
The bank also offers reliable online banking, both through their mobile applications, and on their website, www.barclays.com.
6. Societe GeneraleThis is also referred to as SocGen, and it has its headquarters in Paris, France, and it is an international banking and financial services organization. The banks is a global functioning organization that works under 3 divisions, the corporate and investment banking services, the retail banking and dedicated financial services, and the global investment services and management. Despite its division, the bank offers services including private and retail banking, corporate banking, investment and insurance policies. The top performing branches of the organization include the following;
• Societe Generale Securitie Services, this is found in France.
• Societe Generale Private Banking, found in Belgium.
• Euro Bank S.A, Poland.
• Bank Republic, Georgia, and
• Splitska Banka, Croatia.
There are several online banking services offered on the official website, http://www.societegenerale.com/en/home.
7. Royal Bank of Scotland This bank is also called the RBS Group and it is banking and insurance organization, with its headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is also a very successful financial and insurance policy institution in the UK. The organization has several operations across Europe. Other services offered by the bank include private banking, business banking, corporate finance, private banking and insurance policies. Other than Europe, the bank has branches in Asia, India, North America and mostly the UK. The organization was reported to have total assets of $1.9trillion. The Royal Bank of Scotland is known for its desperate attempt to be involved in oil business. The Friends of the Earth and Platform London charities challenged the bank over its financial support to coal and oil mining. The bank attempted to be active in the funding of coal and oil mining, even branding itself the Oil and Gas Bank. However, this deal didn’t turn out very successful and the official website was shut down. The banks also offer a reliable online banking and can be accessed via the official website http://www.rbs.com/ .
8. Groupe BPCE The Groupe BPCE has its headquarters in Paris, France and it offers financial and banking services. It is also known to sell different types of insurance policies. The bank was established in 2009 by a partnership between the Banque Federale Des Banques Populaires and the Caisse Nationale Des Caisses D’epargne, BFBP and CASA. Currently, it has over 8,200 branches across the nation and about 40million account holders. The bank is well known for its overnight boom and success, which raised a number of questions. Nevertheless, the bank proved its genuineness and it has diverse across Europe and the world at large in a great way. Another that has boosted the growth of the bank is the involvement with different social classes. The customers range from professional to individual customers, small, medium and mega enterprises that are in France and across the world. The bank was among the 11 banks that were fined a total of 384.9 million Euros. This was as a result of conspiring to pose unfair fees for the processing of checks, specifically those that were charged during paper check to electronic transfer. This fine was imposed by the body responsible for controlling the compensation in France, Autorite de la concurrence. The bank has branches in France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Spain. More information can be found on http://www.bpce.fr/en .
9. Banco Santander, SpainIt is a leading bank in Spain and it is managed by the Santander Group, which is a banking and financial services organization in Spain. The headquarters of the bank is in Santander, Spain. The bank is commonly known for its market capitalization, which makes it among the top European banks. The bank is reported to have assets that amount to over $1.6 trillion. More content can be accessed on the site, https://www.bancosantander.es/cssa/Satellite?pagename=SantanderComercial/Page/SAN_Index. The top 5 branches include the following;
• Banco Santader, S.A, Paris.
• Banco Santader Germany.
• Banco Santader Spain.
• Banco Santader Portugal
• Banco Santader, UK.
10. ING Group This is the biggest bank in the Netherlands, and it has a number of branches across the globe. Its headquarters is in Amsterdam, Netherlands and it majorly focuses on retail banking, direct banking, insurance services and investment banking. The bank has assets that sum up to $1.5 million and its top branches include the following;
• ING Netherlands
• ING Belgium
• ING Luxembourg
• ING Poland, and
• ING UK.
In addition, it offers great online services on the official website, http://www.ing.com/en.htm.
Conclusion These European banks offer a number of services that are reliable. Most of the banks are popular through their involvement in community-based activities. Some have charities, which are meant to help the community, while other sponsor sports events and community organizations. Another factor that contributes to their popularity is the great services offered. This comes along with favorable banking rates, which is the major factor that pulls customers to the given institutions. Despite their several scandals and related controversies, the banks have managed to win customers. The management has also contributed to the growth of the institutions. Most of the scandals happened when there was a different management team to the one that is active at the moment.
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