Global CIW banking has entered an execution phase, where rank movement is driven by improvement across multiple dimensions, while the efficiency gap between Middle Eastern and Western institutions widens
Global CIW banking has entered an execution phase, where rank movement is driven by improvement across multiple dimensions, while the efficiency gap between Middle Eastern and Western institutions widens
European banks across 34 markets saw net profit grow by a factor of 4.4 between FY2020 and FY2025, driven by post-pandemic recovery and the European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) most aggressive rate-hike cycle in a generation between 2022 and 2023. As these growth tailwinds ease and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and ECB revise Euro area real GDP growth to between 0.9 and 1.1% in 2026, banks that built structural capacity during the windfall years now demonstrate more stable earnings, with banks in Belgium, Eastern Europe and the Nordics emerging as structural leaders.
Mapping deposit growth against loan growth across the world's 1,000 largest banks reveals that 54% expanded lending faster than deposits between 2022 and 2024. When funding structures and liquidity buffers are also considered, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia emerge as the markets with the most vulnerable banking sectors. This underscores the structural challenge of building strong customer deposit franchises in high-growth emerging markets.
Across 10 banks tracked from 2021 to 2025, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Asia and Bank of China (Hong Kong) led retail loan expansion with four-year compound annual growth rates of 9% and 5%, respectively, while Nanyang Commercial Bank and China Construction Bank Asia recorded sustained contraction at -7% and -4%.
New B2B cross-border payment rails are outpacing traditional correspondent banking on speed, predictability, and transparency. Corporate treasuries increasingly prefer these new rails, while banks anchored in legacy infrastructure face structural revenue pressures, with even modest margin shifts threatening billions in annual income.
Deutsche Bank leads the 2026 TABInsights CIW ranking among Europe-based corporate, investment and wholesale banks, as digital capability, operational efficiency and franchise strength increasingly differentiate the region’s top institutions.