According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, HSBC Holdings stands as the No. 1 largest bank by assets because of a surge in holdings this year.
HSBC reported this week that its assets as of June 30 were $1.74 trillion, a $236 billion, or 16%, increase over those reported as of Dec. 31.
Though Citigroup also reported increases in assets, they were not enough to keep a grip on its title as the world’s largest bank by assets. Citigroup reported that its assets as of June 30 were $1.63 trillion, rising 8.9% from $1.49 trillion on Dec. 31.
Citigroup still holds the title of the world’s biggest bank by market value, though Bank of America is making moves that could pose serious competition as a rival in that category.
HSBC’s move to the No. 1 spot marks the second time Citigroup, the first bank to garner $1 trillion in assets, has been surpassed in assets this year after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group was created out of the merger of Japan’s second- and third-largest banks.
But HSBC has topped both Mitsubishi UFJ and Citigroup recently following reports from Mitsubishi that said its assets had dropped during the first part of 2006.