Ever thought of keeping your money in Bank of Tokyo - Mitsubishi UFJ? Or maybe the National Bank of Kuwait? If not, you might want to think again – according to CNBC's Safest Banks in the World, these two financial institutions are members of an elite list of exceptional banks.

This list is taken from Global Finance's annual list of the world's 50 safest banks. CNBC lists the safest bank in each of 20 countries represented on the top 50 list. Global Finance uses the following method to compile its list:

The safest banks table compares the ratings for the world’s 50 safest banks, based on long-term foreign currency ratings from Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s and long-term bank deposit ratings from Moody’s Investors Service. Where possible, holding companies have been rated rather than subsidiary banks, and government import-export finance institutions have been omitted. Within each rank set, banks are rated according to asset size. A rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a security, and it does not comment on market price or suitability for a particular investor. Because Moody’s uses different ratings from the other agencies, equivalents are shown in the table on the right.

Here's the rest of the list, with each bank's rank in the top 50 listed in parentheses. Note that CNBC's list is slightly outdated, because Global Finance updated its top 50 in March. The only major difference I noticed was Credit Suisse Group, which fell a bit in the overall rankings. The order and ranks listed below are from Global Finance's latest update.

• Switzerland: Credit Suisse Group (47)
• Japan: Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (46)
• Kuwait: National Bank of Kuwait (43)
• Belgium: AXA Bank Europe (39)
• Caixa Geral de Depositos: (36)
• Norway: DnB NoR Bank (33)
• Italy: Intesa Sanpaolo (31)
• Finland: Pohjola Bank (28)
• Singapore: DBS Bank (27)
• Sweden: Nordea Bank (22)
• United States: Wells Fargo (21)
• United Kingdom: HSBC (19)
• New Zealand: ASB Bank Limited (18)
• Australia: National Australia Bank (11)
• Canada: Royal Bank of Canada (10)
• Spain: Banco Santander (9)
• The Netherlands: Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (3)
• France: Caisse des Depots et Consignations (2)
• Germany: KfW (1)

I'm not sure how practical this list is for most people. At least in the U.S., where I am, it may be difficult to open an account in another country unless you have a fairly significant savings. That said, it's a good list to keep in mind in case (or for when) you do have such reserves.