Where the World's Strongest Banks Are: Not the U.S., Not Europe
From New York Not even one U.S. bank made the cut of the world's strongest financial institutions in an analysis conducted by Jupiter, Fla.-based Weiss Ratings. Latin America is home to the strongest banks overall, according to the Weiss ranking, while Europe and Asia, along with one embattled U.S. financial giant, dominated a ranking of the world's weakest banks. It’s Europe that really worries Weiss researchers, as well as just about every other person following the global markets. "Our analysis underscores just how severe Europe's financial crisis is despite imposed austerity measures, while financial institutions in emerging markets have largely bypassed the recurring debt crises of recent years,” notes Weiss Ratings' senior banking analyst Gene Kirsch. “And, with fears over a euro breakup mounting, European banks could easily face a new and more tumultuous round of financial troubles." The company says that five European countries in particular --