Banks' ranking by share capital

A ranking of banks by share capital, recently put together by the National Bank, paints a surprising picture of the banking system, completely different from traditional hierarchies, based on assets. In the ranking by share capital, Raiffeisen is the top player, followed by Banca Transilvania and Piraeus Bank. However, in terms of assets, BCR and BRD Société Générale sit comfortably ahead of the rest, filling the top two positions, while Volksbank has recently climbed to the third position (removing Raiffeisen from the top three after a long time). In the share capital ranking, BCR and BRD now rank as low as the fifth and seventh position respectively, with CEC Bank at No. 6. Austria-based Volksbank is much lower in this ranking, at No. 13. Share capital reveals a bank’s soundness, being a primary source of funding. However, banks have other sources, which can be categorised as their own funds – reserves, undisbursed profit – which are added to the share capital. Therefore, a ranking considering total funds would paint a different picture than the one resulting from comparing share capitals.