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

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.

Malaysian consumers voted Maybank as the Most Recommended Retail Bank, while Touch ’n Go emerged as the Most Recommended Platform in the latest BQS™

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

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%.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alipay emerges as the best platform, driven by its impressive performance in coverage, connectivity and ecosystem, while GCash excels in customer base, usage and engagement, and Wise scores on performance

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

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.

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.

Al Rajhi Bank retained the top spot in the rankings of the largest and the strongest Islamic banks in the world. Malaysia had the most Islamic banks on the list, while Saudi Arabia held the largest share of total assets

Saudi National Bank, the third largest bank in the Middle East and Africa, achieved solid profitability. National Bank of Egypt overtook Standard Bank Group as the largest bank in Africa and it fared well in asset quality, capitalisation and liquidity

Asia Pacific banking sector delivered better-than-expected profitability and reduced NPLs in FY2021.The strongest banks in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore ranked among the top 10 strongest banks in the region

Asia Pacific banks saw asset growth slow down to 7.9% in FY2021 from 10.7% in FY2020, while 85% of banks posted higher net profit, reflecting economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic

Regulators in African countries are exploring the role of open banking in financial services. This push is reflected by the diverse opportunities that open banking can provide to financial services and end-customers.

Alternative credit is flourishing in Thailand as big technology platforms fill in the lending gaps left by traditional financial institutions. Known for fast and efficient end-to-end services, these challengers are drawn to the country because of the large market for unsecured lending and higher profit potential.

The rapid digitalisation of MSMEs, emergence of new digital-native business models and niche segments have become a key focus area for financial technology companies to serve.

Banks have not experienced a significant deterioration in asset quality of their MSME exposure, supported by various policy measures. An uptick in the non-performing small business loans is expected with the expiry of these measures.

The weak sales growth for this year’s Double 11 shopping festival was largely driven by the depressed consumer sentiment and logistical disruptions under the zero-COVID policy, along with the regulatory scrutiny.

Nedbank’s retail banking business posted growth in 2021, on the back of transformation through digital ecosystems and branch infrastructure.

Emirates NBD’s improved sales and customer experience strengthened its retail banking performance.

WeBank of China, Ally Bank in the US, and the retail arm of ING Group, topped The Asian Banker's the inaugural global ranking of leading digital banks.

Some countries in Asia Pacific posted stronger growth in bank lending to small businesses between 2019 and 2021 as compared to the period from 2017 to 2019