The World's 29 Too Big To Fail Banks, JPMorgan At The Top

The updated list of the world’s too big to fail banks is out today and JPMorgan Chase JPM +0.26% along with HSBC are at the top.

The Financial Stability Board amends the list each year after examining banks to decide which ones pose a threat to the global economy if they were to fail.
Those on the list must hold more capital to absorb potential losses, and therefore protect taxpayers from bailouts.

This year JPM and HSBC top the list which means they must each hold an extra 2.5% of capital on top of the an additional 7% that will be required down the road.

There are 29 banks total on this year’s list compared to 28 last year. Each falls into one of five capital buffer groups ranging from 1% to 3.5%. The top group, which requires bank to hold 3.5%, is empty this year.

Citigroup C +0.46% and Deutche Bank were in the 2.5% category last year but the FSB dropped the two banks down a notch to the 2% slot.

Bank of America BAC +0.56%, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley MS +2.21% and UBS UBS +0.82% remain in the same bucket as last year which requires them to keep an extra 1.5% of additional capital to absorb potential losses.

Wells Fargo is the only of the four big US banks to sit in the bottom bucket requiring it to hold an extra 1%.

Here’s the full list of banks and their respective capital buffer requirements from the FSB: