Big Four (banks)

The term Big Four ( English for "the big four") describes the four largest banks in many countries .

International

Internationally, the term Big Four Banks traditionally refers to the following central banks :

• Federal Reserve , United States 
• European Central Bank , European Union 
• Bank of Japan , Japan 
• Bank of England , UK 

United Kingdom

Until 2001, Big Four was the name given to the four major British deposit banks in London . These were Lloyds Bank (now Lloyds Banking Group ), NatWest (now part of Royal Bank of Scotland RBS ), Barclays Bank and Midland Bank (now part of HSBC ).

After the merger in 2001 between Halifax and Bank of Scotland to form HBOS , the Big Four became the Big Five . The term Big Five was used before the National Provincial Bank merged with Westminster Bank in 1968.

In the course of the global credit crisis, HBOS got into a serious financial crisis from which the bank was no longer able to free itself. In a prepared rescue operation, HBOS was finally taken over by Lloyds TSB on September 18, 2008, effectively replacing the term Big Five with Big Four .

The four largest UK banks are now HSBC , Royal Bank of Scotland RBS , Barclays Bank and Lloyds Banking Group .

China

In China , the following banks are currently referred to as Big Four banks :

• Bank of China
• China Construction Bank
• Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
• Agricultural Bank of China

Australia

In Australia , the following banks are grouped under the Big Four banks :

• National Australia Bank
• Commonwealth Bank
• Westpac
• Australia and New Zealand Banking Group

Maintaining this structure is the government's goal under the term four pillars policy .

South Africa

South Africa's Big Four banks are

• First National Bank
• Absa Group Limited
• Standard bank
• Nedbank

Sweden

Even Sweden has its Big Four banks , these are:

• Swedbank
• Nordea
• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banks (SEB)
• Svenska Handelsbanken

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lee Adler: The Big Four Central Banks Muddy The Same Sea of ​​Liquidity . Retrieved March 3, 2015.
2. ^ Four Stories of Quantitive Easing . Retrieved March 3, 2015.
3. ↑ Article in Mail chinadaily from December 19, 2003 on the Big Four banks of China
4. ↑ Article in the Age of May 14, 2008 on the four pillars policy
5. ↑ Article in Mail & Guardian Online from December 19, 2005 on the Big Four banks of South Africa
6. ↑ Overview at the Invest in Sweden Agency from October 2008 ( Memento of the original from December 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.