Largest banks in Europe 2024, by market capitalization

HSBC stood as Europe's only bank with a market capitalization exceeding 100 billion U.S. dollars as of December 31, 2024. The UK-based financial institution reached a market value of approximately 176.71 billion U.S. dollars, significantly ahead of its closest European competitor, UBS, which was valued at 97.76 billion U.S. dollars. Throughout the past decade, despite market fluctuations, HSBC has consistently maintained its position as Europe's most valuable bank by market capitalization.

European banking: single representative in global elite

Among the world's 15 largest banks by market capitalization in December 2024, HSBC was Europe's sole representative. JPMorgan Chase, headquartered in the United States, led the global rankings with a market value exceeding 678 billion U.S. dollars.

What is market capitalization?

Market capitalization - calculated by multiplying a company's outstanding shares by its share price -serves as a widely used measure of company size. While this metric provides investors with an easily calculated indicator for risk assessment, it represents just one way to evaluate banks' performance. European banks can also be measured by other important metrics, including total assets, revenue, and cost-to-income ratio (CIR). These alternative measurements may paint a different picture of their relative strength and market position.