Australian banks the fifth most profitable in the world

Banks in Australia are the fifth most profitable in the world - and the most profitable if the banking industries of the four BRIC economies are overlooked.

The annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, released this morning, put the pre-tax return on assets for banks in Australia in 2012 at 1.18 per cent.

Last year, the BIS found that banks in Australia were at the forefront of industry profitability on a global basis.

This year, with a wider survey, the BIS put banks from Russia at the head of a global league table, with a sector return on assets of 2.39 per cent.

Banks from China, Brazil and India all produced higher ROAs than Australia.

North America produced the only other passable banking profits last year, with returns of 1.07 per cent in Canada and 0.96 per cent in the United States.