Trends in bank profitability and factors affecting it are major indicators of changes in the state of health of national banking systems. This publication complements Banking Statistics: Financial Statements of Banks 2010 which provides a unique tool for analysing developments in bank profitability in OECD countries. In addition to information on financial statements of banks in OECD countries, it includes data on the number of reporting banks, their branches and staff, structural information on the whole financial sector and ratios aiming at facilitating the analysis of bank profitability of OECD countries.

The methodological country notes included in this volume were prepared to facilitate the comprehension and the interpretation of the statistics and to provide a brief description of the activities of banks in each country.