Banking is big business. If you need proof just check the list of the top 2000 largest public companies in the world recently compiled by Forbes. 14 companies ranked in the top 50 are in the banking industry. Numbers 1, 2 and 3 are Citigroup, Bank of America and HSBC Holdings. The others are JPMorgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland, BNP Paribas, Barclays, HBOS, Société Générale Group, Banco Santander, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, ABN Amro Holding, and Crédit Agricole all with assets in the hundred billions and thousand billions. Other billion-dollar industries include insurance, Oil & Gas, telecommunications and drugs & biotechnology.

Top 100 of Forbes’s Global 2000

1.Citigroup - Location: United States - Industry: Banking

2.Bank of America - Location: United States - Industry: Banking

3.HSBC Holdings - Location: United Kingdom - Industry: Banking

4.General Electric - Location: United States - Industry: Conglomerates

5.JPMorgan Chase - Location: United States - Industry: Banking

6.American Intl Group - Location: United States - Industry: Insurance

7.ExxonMobil - Location: United States - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

8.Royal Dutch Shell - Location: Netherlands - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

9.UBS - Location: Switzerland - Industry: Diversified Financials

10.ING Group - Location: Netherlands - Industry: Insurance

11.BP - Location: United Kingdom - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

12.Toyota Motor - Location: Japan - Industry: Consumer Durables

13.Royal Bank of Scotland - Location: United Kingdom - Industry: Banking

14.BNP Paribas - Location: France - Industry: Banking

15.Allianz - Location: Germany - Industry: Insurance

16.Berkshire Hathaway - Location: United States - Industry: Diversified Financials

17.Wal-Mart Stores - Location: United States - Industry: Retailing

18.Barclays - Location: United Kingdom - Industry: Banking

19.Chevron - Location: United States - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

19.Total - Location: France - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

21.HBOS - Location: United Kingdom - Industry: Banking

22.ConocoPhillips - Location: United States - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

23.AXA Group - Location: France - Industry: Insurance

24.Société Générale Group - Location: France - Industry: Banking

25.Goldman Sachs Group - Location: United States - Industry: Diversified Financials

25.Morgan Stanley - Location: United States - Industry: Diversified Financials

27.Banco Santander - Location: Spain - Industry: Banking

27.Deutsche Bank - Location: Germany - Industry: Diversified Financials

29.AT&T - Location: United States - Industry: Telecommunications Services

30.Electricité de France - Location: France - Industry: Utilities

31.Credit Suisse Group - Location: Switzerland - Industry: Diversified Financials

32.Merrill Lynch - Location: United States - Industry: Diversified Financials

33.Procter & Gamble - Location: United States - Industry: Household & Personal Products

34.Wells Fargo - Location: United States - Industry: Banking

35.Wachovia - Location: United States - Industry: Banking

36.ENI - Location: Italy - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

37.Fortis - Location: Netherlands - Industry: Diversified Financials

38.Verizon Communications - Location: United States - Industry: Telecommunications Services

39.Altria Group - Location: United States - Industry: Food Drink & Tobacco

40.Mitsubishi UFJ Financial - Location: Japan - Industry: Banking

41.Petro China - Location: China - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

42.IBM - Location: United States - Industry: Software & Services

43.Gazprom - Location: Russia - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

44.ABN Amro Holding - Location: Netherlands - Industry: Banking

45.Crédit Agricole - Location: France - Industry: Banking

46.Telefónica - Location: Spain - Industry: Telecommunications Services

47.E.ON - Location: Germany - Industry: Utilities

48.Pfizer - Location: United States - Industry: Drugs & Biotechnology

49.DaimlerChrysler - Location: Germany - Industry: Consumer Durables

50.Petrobras-Petróleo Brasil - Location: Brazil - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

51.Nestlé - Location: Switzerland - Industry: Food Drink & Tobacco

52.Lloyds TSB Group - Location: United Kingdom - Industry: Banking

53.ICBC - Location: China - Industry: Banking

54.BBVA-Banco Bilbao Vizcaya - Location: Spain - Industry: Banking

55.Hewlett-Packard - Location: United States - Industry: Technology Hardware & Equip

56.Deutsche Telekom - Location: Germany - Industry: Telecommunications Services

57.Fannie Mae - Location: United States - Industry: Diversified Financials

58.Nippon Telegraph & Tel - Location: Japan - Industry: Telecommunications Services

59.Mizuho Financial - Location: Japan - Industry: Banking

60.Johnson & Johnson - Location: United States - Industry: Drugs & Biotechnology

60.Siemens - Location: Germany - Industry: Conglomerates

62.MetLife - Location: United States - Industry: Insurance

63.Samsung Electronics - Location: South Korea - Industry: Semiconductors

64.Aviva - Location: United Kingdom - Industry: Insurance

65.Sumitomo Mitsui Financial - Location: Japan - Industry: Banking

66.Microsoft - Location: United States - Industry: Software & Services

67.France Telecom - Location: France - Industry: Telecommunications Services

67.Time Warner - Location: United States - Industry: Media

69.CCB-China Construction Bank - Location: China - Industry: Banking

70.Zurich Financial Services - Location: Switzerland - Industry: Insurance

71.Sinopec-China Petroleum - Location: China - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

72.Arcelor Mittal - Location: Netherlands - Industry: Materials

73.Honda Motor - Location: Japan - Industry: Consumer Durables

74.Sanofi-aventis - Location: France - Industry: Drugs & Biotechnology

75.Dexia - Location: Belgium - Industry:Banking

76.RWE Group - Location: Germany - Industry: Utilities

77.Royal Bank of Canada - Location: Canada - Industry: Banking

78.Generali Group - Location: Italy - Industry: Insurance

79.Home Depot - Location: United States - Industry: Retailing

80.Novartis - Location: Switzerland - Industry: Drugs & Biotechnology

81.Nissan Motor - Location: Japan - Industry: Consumer Durables

82.Bank of China - Location: China - Industry: Banking

83.Lehman Bros Holdings - Location: United States - Industry: Diversified Financials

84.KBC Group - Location: Belgium - Industry: Banking

85.GlaxoSmithKline - Location: United Kingdom - Industry: Drugs & Biotechnology

85.Roche Holding - Location: Switzerland - Industry: Drugs & Biotechnology

87.UniCredito Italiano - Location: Italy - Industry: Banking

88.Prudential Financial - Location: United States - Industry: Insurance

89.China Mobile - Location: Hong Kong/China - Industry: Telecommunications Services

90.National Australia Bank - Location: Australia - Industry: Banking

91.Manulife Financial - Location: Canada - Industry: Insurance

92.Munich Re - Location: Germany - Industry: Insurance

92.Statoil Group - Location: Norway - Industry: Oil & Gas Operations

94.Deutsche Post - Location: Germany - Industry: Transportation

95.Telecom Italia - Location: Italy - Industry: Telecommunications Services

96.Unilever - Location: Netherlands/United Kingdom - Industry: Food Drink & Tobacco

97.BHP Billiton - Location:Australia/United Kingdom - Industry: Materials

98.Aegon - Location: Netherlands - Industry: Insurance

99.Allstate - Location: United States - Industry: Insurance

100.BASF - Location: Germany - Industry: Chemicals