Lists of banks

WorldBrand briefing

AI supplement

Original synthesis to sit alongside the encyclopedia article below. Not part of Wikipedia; verify facts on Wikipedia when precision matters.

Lists of banks is a curated parent index page on English Wikipedia that organizes hundreds of separate, structured sub-lists of global banking institutions, categorized by geographic region, operational specialization, regulatory classification, historical status, and other grouping criteria, to streamline public access to aggregated banking reference information.

Key moments

c. 2001Initial creation of the core parent index page on English Wikipedia as a centralized navigation hub for scattered bank-related list entries
Mid-2000sMajor expansion phase adding country and region-specific sub-lists covering nearly all major national economies worldwide
2010sLaunch of specialized niche sub-lists for categories including systemically important banks, defunct historical financial institutions, ethical and impact-focused banks, and offshore-licensed banks
2020sOngoing incremental community updates to reflect post-pandemic market consolidations, new digital bank licensing, and global banking sector regulatory shifts

Open access reference value

This index eliminates barriers to entry for casual researchers, small business operators, and students who cannot afford paywalled commercial banking directories, providing a free, centralized starting point for tasks ranging from identifying local regional bank options to mapping cross-border bank presence across different jurisdictions.

Known structural biases and gaps

As a community-maintained resource, the index has documented representation imbalances: listings for North American and European banks are far more complete and regularly updated than entries for small institutions in low-documentation low-income jurisdictions across sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Southeast Asia. Occasional unvetted edits may also include outdated licensing or operational status data for specific smaller banks.

Underserved niche reference content

Many of the sub-lists under the index cover niche categories rarely documented in mainstream official financial references, including minority-owned community banks, sharia-compliant financial institutions, and banks that failed during the 2008 global financial crisis, creating unique longitudinal datasets for researchers studying banking sector regulation and market inclusion trends.

Lists of banks are contained in the following articles:

By continent

List of banks in Africa – each country in Africa has a list of banks operating in that country
List of banks in Asia – each country in Asia has a list of banks operating in that country
List of banks in the Americas – each country in the Americas has a list of banks with operations in that country
List of banks in Europe – each country in Europe has a list of banks operating in that country
List of banks in Oceania – each country in Oceania has a list of banks operating in that country

By super continent or intercontinental region

List of banks in the Arab world – each Arab country has a list of banks operating in that country
List of largest banks in ASEAN – each country in Southeast Asia has a list of banks with operations in that country