World's Safest Banks

In a global economy that has been plagued by troubles in the world's financial systems, the words "safe" and "bank" still give investors pause. The shakeup of banking systems around the world raises the question: "Which banks are the safest?" These rankings are being published first on CNBC.com.

For the past 19 years, Global Finance has compiled a list of the World's 50 Safest Banks, and in the current recessionary environment of increased regulation and oversight, long-term safety of banks is of key interest. According to Global Finance, the companies who ranked highly this year were the ones that "cleaned up their balance sheets and strengthened their capital positions."

This ranking of safe banks was created through the comparison of long-term credit ratings (from Moody's Standard & Poor's and Fitch) and analysis of total assets owned by the 500 largest banks in the world.

For ease of comparison, we've listed the highest ranking bank in each country, as well as key statistics for each country's banking system. The size of the banking system was determined by the total value of assets owned by the country's banks and financial institutions.

It may be a surprise where you'll find the safest banks in the world.... click ahead to find out!