JP Morgan has emerged top in the list of world’s strongest banks. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) suffered the biggest loss last year. This is according to the new industry rankings.

RBS registered a loss of $59.3 billion last year, overtaking its rivals, including Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Citigroup posted $ 53 billion loss, while Wells Fargo’s loss amounted to $ 47.8 billion, as per The Banker magazine.

Profits of global banks dipped 85% last year to $ 115 billion. This is down from $781 billion. Return on equity dipped from 20% to 2.69%. JP Morgan has topped The Banker’s annual list of the strongest 1000 global banks. It has moved up from fourth position a year earlier. The ranking have been running since the 1970s. The ranking is based on capital strength or amount of tier 1 capital.

Bank of America came second, while Citigroup and RBS finished third and fourth, respectively. This is despite all three having problems last year. JP Morgan was assisted by its takeover of Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns. Bank of America was helped by its acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

HSBC fell to number five from first position. But, it was the only bank in the top five not to have received any support from the government. Among Asian banks, Mitsubishi UFJ was positioned highest at number seven, a place ahead of ICBC of China.

ICBC earned most profits last year with $ 21.3 billion earnings. The five most profitable banks are from China and Spain. China Construction Bank was second most profitable with a profit of $ 17.5 billion.