Ranking
Safest Banks in the World 2026
The 25 highest-scoring banks, plus any tied with the 25th, out of every bank, building society and money app we cover, from the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Africa and the Gulf. The score asks one question, how safe a depositor's money is, and combines capital, deposit protection, liquidity, conduct, digital security and how each bank came through crises since 2008.
Updated · Scores update with each page
The ranking
Nationwide Building Society
The UK's biggest retail deposit taker is one of the best-capitalised lenders in the country and is funded mostly by savers. Since Virgin Money's business moved into it in April 2026, Nationwide and Virgin Money deposits share a single £120,000 FSCS limit.
Score 83, grade BRabobank
A very safe home for ordinary savings. Rabobank holds about twice the core capital it must, is funded largely by Dutch savers and needed no state help in 2008. Deposits at Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. are covered to €100,000 by the Dutch scheme. Its weak spot is conduct, including a pending Dutch money-laundering case.
Score 82, grade BSkipton Building Society
The Yorkshire-based mutual, with more than a million members, holds one of the thickest capital buffers of any UK lender and is funded mostly by retail savers. Its ratings sit a notch or two below Nationwide's, and money held at its Guernsey bank falls under a much smaller scheme.
Score 82, grade BCrédit Agricole
One of the best-capitalised large banks in Europe and a safe place for deposits. Your money sits with your regional bank or LCL, each covered by the FGDR to €100,000, plus €100,000 for Livret A, LDDS and LEP. Weak spots are losses in Greece after 2008 and recent customer-targeted phishing.
Score 80, grade BDBS Bank
Singapore's largest bank has one of the thickest capital buffers among large banks, at 16.6% CET1 against a 9.2% requirement. Singapore dollar deposits at DBS Bank Ltd, including POSB, are insured by SDIC up to S$100,000. The weak spot is reliability, after outages that led MAS to add capital charges.
Score 80, grade BHSBC
One of the safest large banks for a depositor. HSBC took no government capital in 2008, holds a 14.1% CET1 ratio and a 134% liquidity coverage ratio, and UK deposits are covered by the FSCS to £120,000. Its conduct record, including UK fines in 2021 and 2024, is the weak spot.
Score 80, grade BJPMorgan Chase
For a depositor, Chase is about as safe as a bank gets. Your money is FDIC-insured up to $250,000, and the group has thick capital and sits alone in the top systemic-importance bucket in use. Its conduct record is the weak spot, with large US fines in 2020 and 2024.
Score 80, grade BOCBC Bank
OCBC holds one of the thickest capital buffers among large banks and is rated Aa1 by Moody's. Singapore dollar deposits are insured by SDIC up to S$100,000. Its weak spot was its slow response to the December 2021 phishing wave, which cost 790 customers S$13.7 million.
Score 80, grade BCharles Schwab
Schwab's banks hold a very large capital buffer and mostly FDIC-insured deposits, and client securities in the brokerage are segregated with SIPC cover. The catch is that cash may sit at a Schwab bank, at TD Bank or in the brokerage, each protected differently, and Schwab paid $187 million in a 2022 SEC case.
Score 79, grade BRoyal Bank of Canada
Canada's largest bank is strongly rated and holds capital above OSFI's requirement. Deposits at Royal Bank of Canada are insured by CDIC up to C$100,000 per eligible category, such as a TFSA, an RRSP or a joint account. Liquidity is adequate rather than deep, and it has paid Canadian and US penalties since 2023.
Score 79, grade BBBVA
A safe bank for ordinary deposits. Spanish accounts at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. are covered by the FGD up to €100,000, capital sits about four points above requirement, and it took no state aid in Spain's banking crisis. The main mark against it is a pending criminal trial over the Villarejo spying case.
Score 78, grade BCaixaBank
CaixaBank, with 20.9 million customers in Spain and Portugal, is well funded by retail deposits and rated A+ by S&P and Fitch. Its record carries the weight of the rescued banks it absorbed, above all Bankia, and the Spanish state still owns 18% of it.
Score 78, grade BCommonwealth Bank of Australia
Australia's largest bank is rated in the AA range and its deposits are covered by the government's Financial Claims Scheme up to A$250,000 per account holder. Capital sits above APRA's strict minimum. The weak spot is conduct, from the 2018 AUSTRAC penalty to a long tail of class actions and customer remediation.
Score 78, grade BMUFG Bank
Japan's largest banking group holds capital well above its requirement and has a deep deposit base. Yen deposits at MUFG Bank, Ltd. are insured up to ¥10 million per depositor, and interest-free payment accounts in full. Its weak spots are 2024 conduct lapses and ratings capped near Japan's own.
Score 78, grade BPNC
PNC Bank is a sound place for insured deposits, with strong deposit ratings, steady profits and a record with only small regulatory penalties. Its CET1 cushion is modest after the FirstBank deal, its liquidity coverage ratio is close to the minimum, and about 45% of its deposits are above the FDIC limit.
Score 78, grade BBNP Paribas
A large, steady bank and a safe place for deposits. French savers get €100,000 of FGDR cover plus a separate €100,000 for Livret A, LDDS and LEP. The weaker points are a 2009 state capital injection and a sanctions history that produced a US jury verdict in 2025.
Score 77, grade BKBC
The Belgian bank-insurance group is well capitalised, funded mainly by retail and small business deposits in Belgium and Central Europe, and rated AA- by Fitch. It needed €7 billion of state aid in the 2008–09 crisis and paid it back with a large premium.
Score 77, grade BSantander
A sound bank for deposits in Spain, the UK and elsewhere. It came through 2008 without state capital and rescued Banco Popular in 2017. Capital is well above requirement for now, but big acquisitions will use some of it, and a 2024 data breach and UK money-laundering fine dent its record.
Score 77, grade BScotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia holds capital about two points above OSFI's requirement and is rated in the AA range by three of four agencies. Eligible deposits are insured by CDIC up to C$100,000 per category. Its liquidity buffer is modest, and US regulators fined it in 2020 and 2023 over trading and recordkeeping failures.
Score 77, grade BBarclays
Money at Barclays is safe. Its CET1 ratio of 14.3% is two points above requirement, liquidity is ample, and UK deposits are FSCS-protected to £120,000. Getting at that money has been less reliable, and the bank has a long list of fines from its investment banking side.
Score 76, grade BICBC
China's biggest state-owned bank holds capital about four points above its requirement and is mostly deposit-funded. Deposits at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited in mainland China are insured up to RMB 500,000 per depositor. US fines in 2024 and a 2023 ransomware attack on its US broker weigh on it.
Score 76, grade BKakaoBank
KakaoBank is a licensed Korean bank with capital more than twice its requirement and liquid assets several times its stressed outflows. Deposits are insured by the KDIC up to ₩100 million per person since September 2025. It is young, app-only and tied to the Kakao group, whose founder faced a stock manipulation trial.
Score 76, grade BSumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
One of Japan's three megabank groups holds capital well above its requirement and plenty of liquidity, and yen deposits at SMBC are insured up to ¥10 million per depositor, with settlement accounts covered in full. The weaker spots are its securities arm's 2022 market manipulation case and occasional system failures.
Score 76, grade BWestpac
Australia's oldest bank holds capital above APRA's strict minimum, carries AA-range ratings, and its deposits are guaranteed by the Financial Claims Scheme up to A$250,000 per account holder. Its weakest point is conduct, led by the A$1.3 billion AUSTRAC penalty of 2020.
Score 76, grade BAmerican Express National Bank
American Express savings and CDs are held at American Express National Bank, an FDIC-insured bank, and about 92% of its direct deposits are within the limit. Capital and liquidity are solid. The weak spot is conduct, with a $350 million anti-money laundering penalty in 2026 and a $230 million sales settlement in 2025.
Score 75, grade BBank of America
A safe home for insured deposits, backed by FDIC cover and some of the highest bank ratings in the US. Its capital buffer over the minimum is modest, it needed a large federal rescue in 2008–09, and a 2024 anti-money-laundering consent order is still open.
Score 75, grade BCommerzbank
A safe bank for German savers. Deposits at Commerzbank AG, including comdirect, are covered to €100,000 by law and up to €3 million per individual by the private banks' voluntary fund. Capital is solid. The weak spot is its history; it needed a large state rescue in 2009.
Score 75, grade BING
A simple, deposit-funded bank and a safe place for savings. Half its funding comes from individuals' deposits, and capital sits about two points above requirement. Its record is the catch, with a large Dutch state rescue in 2008 and a €775 million money-laundering settlement in 2018.
Score 75, grade BJapan Post Bank
A low-risk place for yen savings. The former postal savings bank lends little, holds a 15.15% domestic capital ratio and is rated A1/A, and legal caps keep most balances near the insurance limit. Its weak spots are group sales and data-handling failures and past payment fraud and outages.
Score 75, grade BMorgan Stanley
Cash at Morgan Stanley's two US banks, including E*TRADE and wealth-account sweeps, is FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per bank. The group holds a wide capital buffer and AA-range bank ratings. Weak spots are a $249 million block-trading fraud case in 2024, fines over lost customer data and its near miss in 2008.
Score 75, grade BStandard Chartered
The London-based bank that earns most of its money in Asia, Africa and the Middle East holds capital well above its requirement. Deposit cover depends on the local bank holding your money, from FSCS in the UK to Hong Kong's HK$800,000 scheme. Repeated sanctions and money laundering penalties are its main weakness.
Score 75, grade BSynchrony Bank
Synchrony Bank, the online savings bank behind many US store cards, holds capital well above its requirement, and almost all its deposits are within the FDIC limit. Its ratings are only BBB, and as GE Capital Retail Bank it paid $225 million in a 2014 CFPB and Justice Department case.
Score 75, grade B
Which banks are on the list
The list draws on every page in our banks category: high-street and investment banks, a building society, online banks, and a few apps and payment companies, such as Chime and Wise, that hold customers' money without being banks themselves. It shows the 25 highest scores, plus any bank tied with the 25th. The full field and the reasons behind each score are on the bank pages.
For a narrower view, see the safest banks in the US, the UK, Europe and Brazil.
How our score differs from a list of big or highly rated banks
Most "safest bank" lists answer an investor's question. Global Finance's annual ranking, the best known, takes the 500 largest banks in the world by assets and orders them by their long-term credit ratings from Moody's, S&P and Fitch. A rating is a view on whether the bank repays its bondholders. It says little about what a saver gets if the bank fails, or how often the app goes down.
Our score asks what happens to a depositor's money. Capital strength counts for 25%, and it combines the CET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary against the bank's own requirement with its credit ratings. Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary counts for 20%: the insurance scheme and its limit in the bank's home country, and how systemically important the bank is. Liquidity and funding, conduct over the last ten years and digital security count for 15% each, and the bank's record since 2008 for 10%. The rubrics are on how we score banks.
That is why a bank in a country with small deposit insurance, such as India, or none with a published limit, such as the UAE, can trail a smaller bank with average ratings. HDFC Bank holds a capital buffer of about nine points, but India's DICGC covers only ₹5 lakh per depositor.
What the top banks have in common
Banks near the top hold capital well above what their regulator asks, are funded mostly by ordinary savers, and came through 2008 without a rescue. JPMorgan Chase and Crédit Agricole did take state capital under schemes for all large banks in their countries, and repaid it in 2009. Nationwide and Rabobank are both owned by their members: Nationwide's CET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary was 19.1% in March 2026 against a 12.3% requirement, Rabobank's 20.2% in June 2026 against 10.9%. HSBC raised money from its own shareholders in 2009 instead of the state. Singapore's DBS and OCBC hold some of the thickest capital buffers among large banks.
Why some famous names are further down
Size and prestige do not lift a score on their own. Citibank needed the largest US bank rescue of 2008 and has paid repeated penalties over risk controls. UBS needed Swiss state capital in 2008 and took on Credit Suisse's cases. Deutsche Bank left many Postbank customers unable to reach their accounts in 2023. Wells Fargo carries the fake-accounts scandal. All of them are financially sound today, and insured deposits there are as safe as anywhere else.
What the score does not tell you
Below the insurance limit, the score matters much less than the limit itself. Check which legal entity holds your money and which country's scheme covers it, because a global brand can hold your deposit in a local bank with its own rules. Spread savings above the limit across separate banking licences.
Questions
What is the safest bank in the world?
No bank stands far ahead of the rest. Banks from the UK, the Netherlands, France, Singapore and the US sit within a few points of each other at the top, so read them as a group rather than a strict order. For an ordinary saver, staying within the Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary limit in your country matters more than the gap between them.
How is this different from Global Finance's World's Safest Banks list?
Global Finance takes the 500 largest banks by assets and ranks them by their long-term credit ratings from Moody's, S&P and Fitch. That measures how likely a bank is to repay its lenders. We use ratings too, as part of capital strength, but add the Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary in the bank's home country, liquidity, fines and orders, outages and breaches, and whether the bank needed state help, because those decide what happens to a saver's money.
Is the biggest bank the safest?
Not necessarily. Size brings stricter rules for G-SIBA global systemically important bank: one of the large banks the Financial Stability Board lists each year because its failure could harm the world economy.More in the glossary, but the largest banks often carry long records of fines and many needed public money in 2008. ICBC, the world's largest bank by assets, and JPMorgan Chase both score well with us, while Citibank and UBS sit lower, mainly because of conduct and their history of rescues.
Are Swiss banks the safest in the world?
Not on our measures. Switzerland's Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary, esisuisse, covers CHF 100,000 per client per bank, about the same as the EU's €100,000 and below the UK's £120,000, and its total funds are capped. UBS is strongly capitalised and very liquid, but it needed Swiss state capital in 2008 and inherited Credit Suisse's legal cases after the 2023 takeover.
Why are there no banks from some countries?
We only rank banks we have written a page for, and we add pages over time. If a large bank is missing, it is not a judgement on that bank. The US, the UK, Brazil and Europe also have their own lists, linked on this page.
Does this ranking tell me where to put my money?
No. It compares how safe deposits are, not interest rates, fees or service, and it is not investment advice about bank shares or bonds. Use it to check that a bank you already like is sound, and keep each account within the insurance limit of the country where the bank is licensed.