The largest bank in the world based on total assets in 2022 was the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). The bank's total assets reached approximately 5.74 trillion U.S. dollars that year. The following three largest banks that year were also Chinese: China Construction Bank, Agricultural bank of China, and Bank of China.

What are assets?

An asset is an economic resource that can take a number of different forms. An asset is anything with economic value that an individual, organization or country is able to control in the expectation that it will provide future benefit. Tangible assets include anything that is physical, and can include vehicles, precious metals, currencies and real estate. Where banking is concerned, assets come from a broad range of areas. A bank’s assets consist of various kinds of loans and marketable securities as well as base money reserves. Their assets are also tied up in physical properties such as buildings, equipment, and furniture.

Largest bank by market capitalization

Total assets is a common measure for a bank's prosperity, and is defined as all assets owned by the bank. Another common indicator is the bank's market capitalization, which is used to determine the size of a bank. The market capitalization is the market price of one share multiplied by the number of shares outstanding. Ranked by market capitalization instead of total assets, JPMorgan Chase was the largest bank in 2022, while ICBC was ranked third.