Four Chinese banks among world's 10 largest

A branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Four of the world's 10 largest banks are from China, while the United States has only two, according to the CNBC citing recent rankings from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, with its assets valued at $3.42 trillion as of Dec 31, again crowns the list this year.

The behemoth is followed by China Construction Bank with $2.83 trillion assets, Agricultural Bank of China with $2.74 trillion, and Bank of China with $2.59 trillion.

Meanwhile, the biggest American institution, JPMorgan Chase, has fallen down a notch to seventh. Bank of America, ranked at nine, is the only other US institution in the global top 10.

Of the top 20 banks, just four are in the US, which has only six of the top 50. By contrast, China occupies the top four slots and 11 of the top 50, CNBC said.

According to it, JPMorgan Chase would move up the ladder considerably if it followed the same accounting rules as its international competitors.

The bank's assets are computed under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), while global banks use international financial reporting standards (IFRS). The difference essentially is between reporting net derivative assets, as under GAAP, or gross derivative assets, as under IFRS, said the newspaper.