China’s economy grew faster than expected at the start of the year but it remains to be seen if it signals a solid recovery trend as the crisis-hit property sector bears down on growth

The world’s top 10 most profitable banks with assets over $100 billion include four from the Middle East, three from Asia, two from the Americas, and one from Europe

Maybank leads the 2024 BankQuality™ Survey, scoring 42%, followed by DBS at 35%, and BCA at 28%, reflecting strong customer retention and adaptation to their needs

Most of Asia Pacific witnessed a slight slowdown in SME loan growth in 2023, but the regional average increased marginally, led by Australia, while concerns remain over SME loan quality, notably in Thailand

The popularity of Bank Central Asia reflects a trend of traditional banks embracing digital innovation to meet customer preferences

Nubank has reported its first full-year profitability since its launch in 2014. Nearing 100 million customers, the bank has set new benchmarks in revenue

The global use of Renminbi is influenced by geopolitics, macroeconomic conditions, infrastructure, and technology

Alipay retains its top spot in this year’s ranking, while Apple Pay climbs higher with its expanded financial services ecosystem

JPMorgan Chase, China Construction Bank, and Emirates NBD claimed leading spots in this year’s ranking, with JPMorgan Chase standing out in retail financial performance and digital customer base

The top 10 digital banks saw revenue grow from $41 billion in 2022 to about $49 billion in 2023

A prominent player in Southeast Asia’s digital finance sector, the group saw significant growth in 2023, cutting losses by 29% despite a challenging economic environment

Surveyed institutions continue to adopt RMB in cross-border trade, driven by cost benefits and foreign exchange risk management

Philippine digital banks saw rapid growth in 2023 alongside mounting concerns over credit quality as gross NPL ratios soared

Fintech funding dropped 42% in 2023 due to economic challenges, yet top firms like Stripe and Investree saw significant investments, demonstrating resilience amid market volatility and uncertainty

The Indian central bank’s disciplinary action and consequent threat to Paytm Payments Bank’s licence is a lesson for the industry that growth and innovation cannot be at the cost of compliance

The majority of institutions surveyed attribute their increased Renminbi usage to China’s investments and partnerships facilitated by the Belt and Road Initiative

Rising borrowing costs, reduced demand, and stringent credit barriers have dampened growth prospects, and these factors are unlikely to shift given the current economic climate

Banks in Asia Pacific invested an estimated $63 billion towards technology in 2022. The annual spending on technology is expected to increase by 7.5% in 2023 to $68 billion.

Transaction banks in the Middle East are expanding services in non-oil businesses with high growth potential, in line with economic diversification, and to mitigate geopolitical instability in countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council

Banks have been investing in AI over the last few years, focusing on specific use cases. They must now scale AI across their business processes and incorporate emerging advancements in GenAI.

China's e-commerce rebounded in 2023, with Pinduoduo's remarkable performance surpassing that of Alibaba and JD.com. Alibaba responded with the 'Year-End Good Price' festival, emphasising a 'low price strategy.'

China’s wealth management market overcame regulatory hurdles and saw renewed investor confidence in the first half of 2023, with mutual funds surpassing the scale of bank wealth management products

The impact of the Renminbi as a commodity currency extends beyond trade transactions, influencing its broader usage in the global financial landscape

Banks increasingly focus on modernising technology architecture and ‘hollow’ their core systems to address the challenges of legacy systems and meet the evolving business needs, agility, scale, for future growth.

Despite China’s trade surplus, the RMB is depreciating against the USD and Euro due to lower yields on RMB-denominated assets, but this trend is expected to reverse in 2024 as interest rates align and exports recover

Trade finance is gradually digitalising amid evolving e-commerce models, driven by technology and sustainability; the $2.5 trillion global trade finance gap affecting SMEs prompts innovation in blockchain, tokenisation, and sustainability, despite geopolitical complexities

Al Rajhi Bank in Saudi Arabia remains the leading global Islamic bank, with Middle Eastern counterparts surpassing Asian ones in scale and profitability, while Asian Islamic banks exhibit stronger asset quality

Banks in the Middle East and Asia Pacific showcased outstanding operational efficiency, with Qatari banks achieving exceptional cost-to-income ratios by leveraging superior IT infrastructure, offering cost-effective digital services, and tailoring branch networks to cater to smaller populations

China’s macroeconomic outlook, open financial markets and continuous technological innovation create ideal conditions for international use of RMB based on a global survey by TABInsights with over 2,542 executives from financial institutions and corporations across 23 markets.

Despite economic challenges and shifting consumer trends, China’s Double 11 sales increased, placing Pinduoduo as a formidable contender in the fiercely competitive e-commerce sector

Four banks in Bangladesh on the TABInsights Bank Watch List reported an average gross NPL ratio of 17.8% in FY2022, while Indian banks demonstrated improved asset quality, with none making the list, highlighting resilience to economic fluctuations

An altered operating environment has led treasury to reprioritise their investment and liquidity management strategy, with cash management providers offering enhanced solutions

In a recent survey conducted by TABInsights, the research and consulting arm of TAB Global, banking professionals highlighted AI integration in finance. The top concern, with 48% support, is skill specialisation. This means leaders need to nurture AI skills across different roles, from entry-level business analysts to mid/senior data engineers and data scientists.

The shift in global supply chains is accelerating demand for new financing programmes and solutions that aim to accelerate and improve trade digitalisation processes

HKMA’s Fintech Promotion Roadmap developed with industry stakeholders aims to drive fintech adoption and spark discussions among banks and fintech companies on its implications for industry transformation

Banks and other financial institutions in China are quicker to adopt new technologies to improve core banking infrastructure, strengthen lending, and enhance compliance

According to a TABInsights survey on technology investment, FI in APAC prioritise data management, advanced analytics and digital banking capabilities

Hong Kong consumers voted Citibank as the Most Recommended Retail Bank with a BankQuality™ Score of 19%, Airstar Bank as the Most Recommended Digital-Only Bank with 12%, and Octopus as the Most Recommended Platform with 14%.

Even as regulators become more stringent, the financial industry continues to grapple with cyber attacks and fraud, according to experts who shared their strategies in a TABInsights survey

Aaron Loo, Managing Director Retail Banking at AmBank Group shares how the bank is coping with increased competition for deposits by adding value to traditional banking services through creative partnerships and technology initiatives

Despite economic headwinds, banks leveraged advanced technologies and a customer-centric approaches to drive balanced growth, with customer engagement, financial inclusion, and ecosystem development emerging as key strategies

Thirty-seven banks held assets surpassing $1 trillion, distributed among 16 in Asia Pacific, 13 in Europe, and eight in North America, representing 51% of the top 1000 banks’ total assets; overall asset growth has decelerated, with the US and some European nations experiencing steep declines and countries like Egypt demonstrating resilience

Investors’ risk appetite and fondness for fintechs have cooled, leading to a 42% drop in global funding and 57% drop in APAC funding in the first half of this year

Taiwanese consumers voted E.Sun Bank as the Most Recommended Retail Bank, giving it a 13% BankQuality™ Score. CTBC Bank emerged as the Most Selected Main Bank, securing 20% of the bankable population for primary relationships

Digital currencies are revolutionising global finance and erasing borders, and while DeFi and the creator economy drive privacy-focused systems independent of governments, the narrative centers on traditional finance and DeFi convergence

The recent TABInsights online poll on the role of the metaverse in financial services over the next five years paints a sobering picture, suggesting that the future of the metaverse in this sector is still uncertain.

DBS’s Gupta is the highest-paid bank CEO in Asia Pacific, while Public Bank CEO Tay received the highest compensation as a percentage of net profit, with the combined total earned by the top 10 highest-paid bank chiefs in the region reaching $63.4 million in FY2022, up from $56.5 million in FY2021

In a recent online survey conducted by TABInsights, the research and consulting arm of TAB Global, top-level executives in the financial industry were asked to provide their insights on the potentially transformative impact of generative AI within the banking sector.

TABInsights’ Financial Institutions Satisfaction Survey reveals global network support as the key force in driving the future of collaboration in transaction finance, echoing this year’s Sibos theme

North America demonstrated the highest overall strength, followed by Asia Pacific and the Middle East, with all banks in the ranking averaging decline in return on assets from 0.76% to 0.74%, and improved gross non-performing loan ratio from 1.8% to 1.65%

With a large portion of Africa’s population still lacking access to traditional banking services, particularly in places banks fear to tread, payment providers have stepped into the breach, gaining in popularity for offering services beyond the usual payments, money transfer and savings

The financial services market size in the metaverse is predicted to drop from 22% to 6% by 2030—its fall from tech wonder to half-baked idea in financial services requires differentiation in its value proposition to secure success

BoA, UOB and Deutsche Bank are the winning transaction banks in Asia Pacific in The Asian Banker Best Transaction Bank Rankings 2023, with leading positions in customer experience, technology and innovation, and digital capabilities

Disintermediation by digital wallets and decentralised finance platforms is shifting deposit business dynamics, requiring conventional banks to innovate and stay competitive

While India led in fintech funding between 2020 and 2022, Singapore outpaced India in the first half of 2023, driven by the digital lending and insurtech segments

The current disintermediation in payments and MSME lending marks the tip of the iceberg, and retail deposits may be the next battleground

The combined revenue of the top 100 global digital-only banks increased by 16% to reach some $66 billion, with China’s WeBank, Ally Bank from the US, and the retail arm of ING Group in the lead in 2023

China's wealth management market has the potential to surpass $100 trillion by 2025, but it needs to overcome challenges like low asset allocation, regulatory changes, and pressure on wealth managers

Consumers in Thailand voted Kasikornbank as the Most Recommended and Most Selected Main Retail Bank in the 2023 BankQuality Survey; Siam Commercial Bank placed second while Line BK emerged as highly-rated digital-only bank

Consumers in India rated ICICI as the Most Recommended Retail Bank in the 2023 BankQuality™ Survey with a score of 69%, while Paytm scored 64% and rated as the Most Recommended Digital-Only Bank

UnionBank topped the 2023 BankQuality™ Survey in the Philippines as the Most Recommended Retail Bank, achieving a score of 67%, tying with Metrobank but with varying margins across key categories

Despite efforts to cap financial sector pay, 17 out of the 25 largest commercial banks in China saw a rise in average remuneration for their directors, supervisors and other senior executives in 2022

Softening bank loan growth in some markets but Asia Pacific expected to sustain momentum in 2023 with post-COVID-19 recovery in China boosting lending demand

Financial institutions are accelerating the use of artificial intelligence, but they need to address key data challenges in scaling capabilities to develop the right technology framework, while also adhering to compliance requirements

Banks have implemented chatbots for operational efficiency and improved customer access, but new AI capabilities expose key gaps in contextual and cognitive capabilities of current bots

While some banks have increased the use of AI in personalising services, marketing and risk management, legacy systems struggle to leverage and scale it effectively, and financial institutions must rethink technology frameworks to move towards AI-driven organisations

Indonesians voted BCA as the Most Recommended Retail Bank, followed by blu as the Best Digital-only Bank and Dana as the Most Recommended Platform in the 2023 BankQuality™ Consumer Survey

Exponential leaps in artificial intelligence and its rising adoption in the financial services industry mean that some risks need to be assessed and managed along the way

Indonesia’s Bank Central Asia, DBS Singapore, South Korea’s Toss Bank, and China’s Alipay were voted the Most Recommended Retail Bank, Most Selected Main Bank, Most Recommended Digital-only Bank and Most Recommended Platform, respectively, in the 2023 BankQuality™ Consumer Survey

The failure of Silicon Valley, Silvergate and Signature banks was caused by asset-liability mismatches, interest rate hikes and insufficient diversification, with many other US banks set to crack

Banks are forward-looking, leaving the pandemic behind and helping clients to expand in the region by digitising operations and embarking on sustainability journeys

The Asian Banker’s survey across financial institutions (FIs) in seven countries in Asia reveals emerging trends in cybersecurity risks and fraud, pressing challenges and technology areas prioritised.

CaixaBank in Spain and South American bank Itau Unibanco topped this year’s inaugural Global Retail Bank Ranking

By combing various technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, 5G, and internet of things, edge computing is a viable solution to issues such as data latency, waste of bandwidth and possible security breaches.

The collapse of cryptocurrency giant FTX in late 2022 sent shockwaves throughout the crypto world. Previously valued at $32 billion, FTX filed for bankruptcy in November and its former chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried faces criminal charges. Countries around the world are expected to tighten regulations, leaving cryptocurrency platforms on shaky ground.

Growing transaction volumes are pushing Indian banks to rethink technology architecture to integrate cloud and data capabilities to meet growing transaction volumes. Indian fintechs and digital players see consumer growth, but also increased expectations and competition.

Central banks worldwide increasingly recognise the benefits of wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) in making remittances and other cross-border transactions cheaper, faster and safer. Pilot projects set in motion seek to identify opportunities and risks as well as explore the possibility of having shared infrastructure to automate cross-border payments, foreign exchange and settlements.

Chinese private banks are upgrading philanthropic planning services to cater to increased demand following the country’s ‘common prosperity’ policy

Digital wallets are driving a transformation of financial services around the world. The gross transaction value of all platforms in Southeast Asia grew by 9% in 2021. E-commerce is believed to be leading the charge, with the compound annual growth rate for digital wallets set to grow by 17% until 2025.

Consumers chose Indonesia’s Bank Central Asia as the Most Recommended Retail Bank, and DBS Singapore as Most Selected Main Bank in APAC in the 2023 BankQuality Survey