Top 10 Largest Financial Companies and Banks Worldwide

Visa Inc. is a global payment technology company that enables consumers, businesses, banks, and governments to use digital currency. Visa offers its services under brands such as Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink, V PAY, and PLUS. Founded in 1958, Visa's headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The company has the highest number of credit cards in the world, with MasterCard coming in second. As of Q4 2019, there were 345 million Visa credit cards in the United States and 797 million abroad.

Visa generates profit by acting as an intermediary between financial institutions and merchants, rather than earning from interest on Visa card payments, which goes to the issuing financial institutions. Visa dominates the market with few competitors, notably Mastercard Inc. In January, the company reported Q1 financial results for the fiscal year 2022, with net income of $4.0 billion, up 26.6% from the previous year.

Visa facilitates global e-commerce through digital payments and information. Visa's transaction processing network, VisaNet, handles transaction clearing, authorization, and settlement, and routes payment information and related data. Its service portfolio includes mobile payments, payment cards, commerce payments, transaction processing services, merchant solutions, and other digital services. Visa also supports local businesses in their development. The company operates in the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Visa is headquartered in Foster City, California, USA.

Website: https://www.visa.com.vn/vi_VN

Bank of America, formally known as Bank of America Corporation, stands as one of the largest banking and financial service conglomerates in the United States. The company was formed in 1998 following the merger of NationsBank Corporation and BankAmerica Corporation. With its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bank of America is ranked as the third-largest bank in the U.S., operating over 4,200 retail banking locations across 21 states and the District of Columbia. The corporation runs four main business segments, offering financial products, services, and solutions to customers in 48 states and 38 countries worldwide.

Bank of America focuses on building deep, lasting relationships with its clients by offering a full range of banking, investment, and insurance services. The company aims to create value for its customers by offering tailored financial solutions within the context of each customer’s unique relationship and financial position. Large businesses and mid-market customers benefit from the company's relationship-based approach, with client managers coordinating various services, including commercial loans, treasury management, debt and equity financing, risk management, and M&A advisory.

Website: https://www.bankofamerica.com/

MasterCard is the second-largest electronic payment card brand in the United States, following Visa. Similar to Visa cards, MasterCard offers two main types of electronic payment cards: credit cards and debit cards. Credit cards operate on a 'buy now, pay later' system, where cardholders make purchases up to a credit limit (a form of loan) set by a bank or financial institution and pay back the amount in monthly installments.

Debit cards (also known as check cards) are part of the 'pay now' system, allowing owners to access available funds in their checking accounts electronically, rather than using cash or paper checks (which are a paper-based method of transferring money from a bank account).

MasterCard is the brand name for MasterCard Worldwide, an international member organization owned by nearly 25,000 banks and other financial institutions. MasterCard itself does not issue credit cards; member banks issue cards under their own names. The brand originated in 1966 when a group of banks established the Interbank Card Association (ICA) to compete with Bank of America, which had started issuing the BankAmericard (now Visa) in 1958.

MasterCard continues to lag behind its number one competitor, Visa, in global brand recognition and credit card transactions. In 2006, the company rebranded from MasterCard International to MasterCard Worldwide to emphasize its global operations.

Website: https://www.mastercard.com.vn/vi-vn.html

PayPal is an e-commerce company, founded in March 2000, that specializes in online money transfers. It became widely used by the online auction giant eBay, which owned PayPal from 2002 to 2015. PayPal emerged from the merger of X.com and Confinity and allows users to make payments for goods or transfer money between accounts in a secure online transaction. After seeing PayPal become the top choice for online auction shoppers, eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion in 2002.

PayPal enables users to link their PayPal accounts to their personal bank accounts, making transactions and payments more efficient than cash or checks. eBay charges a fee on certain transactions based on the transaction amount, its nature, and the currency used. In 2015, PayPal became an independent company but continues to be used by eBay. Advanced security measures have made PayPal highly respected for its ability to prevent identity theft. The company has implemented superior fraud and anti-hacking tools, as well as developed a mobile key device that requires manual account activation before transferring funds from a PayPal account to another.

PayPal operates with about 392 million active accounts, including 34 million merchant accounts across over 200 markets. It earns fees from payment transactions, currency exchanges, and withdrawals from foreign bank accounts, as well as from interest on customer balances and PayPal-branded credit and debit cards. The company processes approximately 19.3 billion payment transactions annually. The U.S. market represents about 55% of PayPal's total revenue.

Website: https://www.paypal.com/vn/home

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, community-based financial services company that provides banking, insurance, investment products, and mortgage services, along with consumer and commercial finance. It operates through various segments: consumer and lending banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and asset management and investment. The consumer and lending banking division offers retail and small business banking services, home loans, credit cards, auto loans, and personal loans.

Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo serves customers through more than 7,200 locations, over 13,000 ATMs, internet and mobile banking, and offices in 31 countries and territories to support global business operations. In 2020, Wells Fargo was ranked 30th on Fortune's list of America's largest corporations.

In the commercial banking segment, Wells Fargo provides banking and credit products across various industries and cities, secured lending and leasing products, and cash management services. The corporate and investment banking segment offers corporate banking services, investment banking, treasury management, commercial real estate loans, equity and fixed income solutions, as well as sales, trading, and research. The asset management and investment segment delivers personalized wealth management services, brokerage, financial planning, lending, private banking, credit, and trust services to affluent, high-net-worth, and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Website: https://www.wellsfargo.com/

China Merchants Bank is a commercial joint-stock bank that provides both corporate and personal banking services. Established in 1987 in Shenzhen, China, it was the first joint-stock commercial bank in China fully owned by corporate entities. The bank offers a range of services, including personal business, corporate services, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and credit cards. It provides loans, investment opportunities, and electronic banking services to individuals, operating both domestically and internationally.

For businesses, China Merchants Bank offers cash management, investment banking, domestic business services, international trade services, retirement plans, and financial institutions. For SMEs, the bank provides payment services, combined loans, equipment financing, general guarantee loans, and home mortgage loans. Additionally, the bank offers a variety of credit cards, including standard Bankcards, HE cards, unlimited credit cards, classic platinum cards, and special platinum cards, all linked to Visa and UnionPay financial networks.

Website: https://english.cmbchina.com/

Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank founded on September 16, 1935, by Henry Sturgis Morgan and Harold Stanley. The company was established following the Glass-Steagall Act, which mandated the separation of investment and commercial banking activities in the United States. Headquartered in Manhattan, New York, Morgan Stanley operates in 42 countries with over 55,000 employees. The firm provides investment banking, asset management, securities, and wealth management services to individuals, corporations, financial institutions, and governments.

In its first year, Morgan Stanley captured 24% of the market share (worth $1.1 billion) in public offerings and private placements. By 1938, the company became the lead underwriter for the debt distribution of United States Corporation. It reorganized in 1941 to expand into the securities business and joined the New York Stock Exchange in 1942. Over the years, Morgan Stanley has been the lead underwriter for some of the largest tech IPOs, including those of Netscape, Cisco, Broadcom, VeriSign, Groupon, Salesforce, Priceline, Compaq, and Google.

Morgan Stanley operates through three main business segments: Wealth Management, which offers a variety of financial solutions for individuals, small businesses, and institutions, including brokerage, credit, investment advisory, insurance, annuities, retirement planning, and fixed-income securities management. The Investment Management division provides asset management services to institutional and retail clients via intermediaries. The Institutional Securities segment, one of the company’s most profitable, offers investment banking, trading, real estate, and corporate lending services.

Website: https://www.morganstanley.com/

ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) is a multinational banking institution based in China. By 2019, the bank employed around 445,106 people. ICBC, headquartered in Beijing, is the largest bank in China and ranks as one of the world's biggest banks by total assets. With a vast network of branches nationwide and globally, ICBC serves over 8 million business clients and 650 million individuals. The bank operates 17,000 domestic branches and 82,191 ATMs in 41 countries.

Established in 1984, ICBC was originally a commercial arm of the People's Bank of China (PBoC), enabling PBoC's transition into the central bank. Today, ICBC offers a comprehensive range of services including private banking, investment banking, corporate asset management, underwriting, custody services, and fiduciary services. In 2007, ICBC acquired a 20% stake in South Africa's Standard Bank, the largest bank in Africa, marking a significant foreign acquisition.

Website: https://www.icbc-ltd.com/

Berkshire Hathaway is a massive conglomerate with a diverse portfolio of companies, including well-known brands like Geico and Fruit of the Loom. Led by legendary investor Warren Buffett since the 1960s, Berkshire Hathaway is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and began as a collection of textile mills. Today, the company boasts a market capitalization of over $600 billion, making it one of the largest publicly traded companies globally. Its Class A shares are among the priciest on the stock market.

The company owns several high-profile private companies, such as GEICO, and holds significant minority stakes in major public companies like Apple. Greg Abel is considered the most likely successor to Warren Buffett, who, despite being 90 years old, has not disclosed any plans to step down. As of May 4, 2021, Berkshire Hathaway's market capitalization exceeded $600 billion, ranking it the ninth-largest public company in the world, according to June 2020 data.

From 1965 to 2019, Berkshire Hathaway's stock outperformed the S&P 500 by more than double. The company's insurance subsidiaries, such as GEICO, represent some of its largest holdings. These subsidiaries also manage hundreds of diverse businesses globally, including Duracell, International Dairy Queen, Pampered Chef, Fruit of the Loom, NetJets, and more. In addition to owning private companies, Berkshire Hathaway also has a large portfolio of investments in public companies like Apple, Bank of America, and United Parcel Service.

Website: https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/

JP Morgan Chase & Co is one of the oldest and most prestigious financial institutions in the United States. With assets totaling $2.6 trillion, JPMorgan Chase is a leading global financial services provider, operating in over 100 markets and employing more than 250,000 people. The company, headquartered in the U.S., offers a wide array of investment banking and financial services. JP Morgan Chase specializes in various capital market products and services, including corporate strategy consulting, equity and debt capital raising, and risk management. Additionally, it plays a significant role in creating cash securities markets and offering brokerage and research services.

JP Morgan Chase operates across several key divisions: consumer and community banking, corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, and asset & wealth management. The consumer and community banking division serves individuals and businesses through personal banking services at branches, ATMs, and via online, mobile, and phone banking. The corporate and investment banking division offers a broad range of investment banking services, market-making, primary brokerage, and treasury and securities products for a global clientele that includes corporations, investors, financial institutions, governments, and municipalities. The commercial banking division delivers comprehensive financial solutions, such as lending, wholesale payments, investment banking, and asset management services.

Website: https://www.jpmorganchase.com/