Global bank ranking removes Unicredit and moves up UBS, China banks

Unicredit Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo

ZURICH  -The Financial Stability Board (FSB) on Monday removed Italy’s UniCredit from the list of global systemically important banks and moved three banks, including Switzerland’s UBS, up a bucket.

The G20’s FSB began the annual rankings after the global financial crisis, requiring the world’s biggest lenders to hold an extra buffer of capital, calibrated across five so-called buckets, and to undergo tougher scrutiny of their operations.

UniCredit, which was the only lender in Italy among those deemed as being of global systemic importance by the FSB, had no comment.

Along with UniCredit, Credit Suisse was removed from the list and China’s Bank of Communications was added for the first time bringing the total number of banks down from 30 in 2022 to 29.

UBS moved up a bucket after earlier this year taking over Credit Suisse in the first merger of two systemically important banks.

Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank also moved up from bucket 1 to bucket 2.