The Banker

About The Banker

The Banker is the world's longest-running international banking magazine - a monthly title that has reported on global finance from London since 1926 and celebrates its centenary in 2026. Owned by the Financial Times group, it provides economic and financial intelligence for banking professionals worldwide, combining news analysis, interviews with industry leaders, country reports and the authoritative data rankings for which it is famous: the annual Top 1000 World Banks and the Bank of the Year Awards.

Edited by Silvia Pavoni and published from London, The Banker today is far more than a magazine: it is a daily digital news service with a growing suite of data tools, newsletters and events serving readers in every major financial centre. Below is a detailed profile of the publication: its founding by one of the most intriguing figures in British public life, its evolution into a data powerhouse, and its place at the centre of global finance.

Founding by Brendan Bracken

The Banker was first launched in London in 1926 by Brendan Bracken - a highly influential but little-known political figure who would later serve as Winston Churchill's wartime minister of information. Bracken left a lasting legacy in financial journalism: after founding The Banker, he was instrumental in the creation of the modern-day Financial Times, and the building in which the FT's staff work is named after him.

The magazine's first decades coincided with some of the most turbulent episodes in financial history. Its archives record the 1929 Wall Street crash, the sterling devaluation of 1967, the end of the Bretton Woods system, the developing-world debt crisis of the 1980s, the 2007-09 global financial crisis and the Covid-19 crisis - a century of banking booms and busts reported as they happened. The long-running "Bracken Column," named after the founder, remains a signature of the title's commentary pages.

Ownership and the FT Group

The Banker is part of the Financial Times group, sitting within FT Specialist - the FT's division for professional information services. This ownership gives the magazine the backing and the editorial standards of one of the world's most respected financial news organisations, while its mission is distinct: where the FT newspaper covers finance for a general business audience, The Banker provides deeper, specialist intelligence for banking professionals themselves.

The magazine describes its purpose as providing objective and incisive reporting and analysis to help bankers and financial professionals make better decisions in a fast-changing environment - a reputation for independence that has made its rankings and awards the industry standard.

Editorial Leadership

The editor-in-chief of The Banker is Silvia Pavoni, appointed by the FT Group to lead the flagship publication. Pavoni joined the FT Group in 2005 and has reported from more than two dozen countries, including a spell as economics editor for The Banker itself; most recently she was the founding editor of Sustainable Views, the FT Specialist service covering environmental, social and governance issues in finance. In 2019 she was awarded an honorary fellowship by City University of London, and she holds MSc and BSc degrees in economics and finance from Ca' Foscari University of Venice.

She is supported by executive editor Chris Newlands - previously an editor and correspondent at the Financial Times, business and money editor at The i newspaper and editor of Financial News - senior editor John Everington, Europe editor Anita Hawser, Asia editor Kimberley Long, and a team of reporters, editors and digital staff. Pavoni succeeded a line of distinguished editors including Brian Caplen, who retired at the end of 2020 after almost two decades at the helm, having led the title since 2003 through the global financial crisis and its aftermath.

Content Pillars and Coverage

The Banker's editorial coverage is organised around five content pillars: global economies (macroeconomic trends and deep dives into country operations); regulations (tracking the changing regulatory environment); digital journeys (emerging technologies, digital transformation and the fintech ecosystem); banking strategies (sector coverage of capital markets, transaction banking and retail banking); and ESG and sustainability (monitoring sustainable finance and the transition to a net-zero emissions world).

Around these pillars the magazine produces in-depth news analysis, topical features, big-name interviews with bank chief executives, central bankers and finance ministers, and detailed country and regional reports. Its journalism covers everything from the break-up speculation around global banks such as HSBC to the preparations of European banks for geopolitical conflict, from the rise of digital-only challengers to the regulation of crypto assets.

Top 1000 World Banks

The magazine's flagship data product is the Top 1000 World Banks, published every July: the industry's most authoritative ranking of banks by Tier 1 capital, the core measure of financial strength used by regulators. The ranking - and its associated tables of the strongest, soundest and best-performing banks - is pored over by bankers, investors, regulators and journalists worldwide, and topping it is a coveted accolade: in 2013 China's ICBC topped the global ranking for the first time, marking the shift of banking power towards Asia.

The ranking is supported by The Banker Database, a data tool giving subscribers access to the underlying financials, and by a family of related rankings including the Top Islamic Financial Institutions. Together they make The Banker one of the most important providers of comparative banking data in the world.

Bank of the Year Awards

The Banker's Bank of the Year Awards are recognised as the industry standard for banking excellence. Contested by the world's leading financial institutions, the awards name winners across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and Western Europe. In the 2024 edition the magazine made awards in 127 countries and received more than 400 submissions - the 26th year of the awards.

Winning banks are chosen for financial performance, innovation, digital transformation, ESG commitments and service to customers and communities: judges in recent years have praised winners for modernising infrastructure, developing innovative products and delivering results through economic headwinds and market volatility. For banks in emerging markets in particular, a Bank of the Year award is a powerful international endorsement.

Digital Transformation

In recent years The Banker has gone through a complete digital overhaul to meet the needs of its readers. Each week its editorial team produces more online content than ever before, with daily news and analysis on thebanker.com, while the redesigned monthly magazine remains the title's flagship long-form product. Six newsletters correspond to the content pillars - from the Sunday editor's blog and weekly round-up through Friday's ESG and sustainability briefing - delivering curated coverage to subscribers' inboxes.

The digital operation includes videos, podcasts and exclusive interviews with global leaders and senior banking officials, and the website's data and rankings sections draw heavy traffic from finance professionals researching markets and competitors.

The Centenary

2026 is a landmark year for The Banker as it celebrates its centenary - 100 years after its first issue rolled off the presses in London. Writing to readers, editor-in-chief Silvia Pavoni noted that "for a century, The Banker has stood at the centre of global finance, setting the standard for insight, rigour and independence," helping generations of readers understand what is shaping banking and banks' impact on the world through periods of profound change and global crises.

A special centenary edition of the magazine, published in January 2026, traces the evolution of banking over the past 100 years - from the Bracken era to an industry being reshaped by technological innovation, resilience and responsibility. As the title enters its second century, it does so, in Pavoni's words, "with even greater ambition than ever before."

Readership and Events

The Banker's readers are senior banking professionals: chief executives, board members, treasurers, heads of divisions and the advisers, investors, regulators and policymakers who work with them. The brand extends beyond publishing into events and conferences, with a presence at international gatherings such as Sibos and the IMF/World Bank annual meetings, where its editors interview the industry's leading figures.

Official Website

The official website of The Banker is thebanker.com, offering daily banking news and analysis, the Top 1000 World Banks rankings, awards coverage, newsletters and information about subscriptions and the centenary celebrations.