Banks make record profits in 2013 - Chinese banks top the league . - Big Chinese banks are continuing to make waves in their ascent of the Top 1,000 banks on the planet. According to The Banker's Top 1,000 World Banks for 2013, Chinese banks now have an extra two banks in the Top 10, which is now headed by Chinese bank ICBC. China Construction Bank has dislodged Citigroup from fifth place. In total, Chinese banks made nearly a third of the record USD 920 billion total profits made by the world's top 1,000 banks. This is the first time that a Chinese bank has topped the league and the first time that banks have beaten their pre-crisis levels, states The Banker. Combined taxable profits by Chinese banks grew to USD 292 billion in 2013, 32% of total bank sector profits, which rose 23% on 2012. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank, Agriculture Bank of China and Bank of China are now in the Top 10. US banks made a combined profit of USD 183 billion or 20% of the world total. Eurozone banks make only 3% of the world total, down from 25% before the 2008 financial crisis. Italian banks made a total loss of USD 35 billion in 2013 (up from €2.9 billion in 2012), the worst performing banks in the league, whereas French, British and German banks did relatively well. Spanish banks generated the biggest increase in profits in the eurozone, totalling €9.2 billion. Greek banks also improved their performance, making a slight profit of nearly €2 billion in total in 2013, putting them second in the league of the best improvers. However, it needs to be borne in mind that Spanish and Greek banks were sorely hit by the 2008 crisis. The biggest eurozone banks are: BNP Paribas (11th; France), Crédit Agricole (13th; France), Banco Santander (14th; Spain), Deutsche Bank (18th; Germany), Groupe BPCE (20th; France) and UniCredit (24th; Italy). Japanese banks made a total profit of USD 64 billion in 2013, 7% of the total, followed by Canadian French and Australian banks (USD 39 billion each), Brazilian banks (USD 26 billion) and British banks (USD 22 billion). ICBC alone made a record profit of USD 55 billion, making it the world's biggest bank in terms of capital, says The Banker. China Construction Bank goes from fifth to second place in terms of capital reserves, followed by JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and HSBC. Wells Fargo became the first bank in the world in 2013 whose stock market value reached USD 275 billion, USD 75 billion more than ICBC. The Banker points out that African banks achieved the best return on capital anywhere in the world in 2013 at 24% - double the average for the rest of the world and six times more than the average RoC of European banks. African banks hold just 1% of world capital. (IL)