Household indebtedness has been on the rise, which is putting future economic growth and financial stability in jeopardy. Thus, many central banks have unveiled measures to curb high household debt. In Asia Pacific, Australia and South Korea are facing the most serious household debt problems.

Chinese and Japanese banks again dominate the list of The Asian Banker 500 largest banks. Balance sheet growth accelerated in the first half of 2020 and some players are reinforcing their scale and competitiveness through mergers and acquisitions

Long a bastion of personalised service by relationship managers, the wealth management sector is undergoing a transformation as clients demand better service and as digital delivery enables new models. Wealth management firms need to combine “high-tech” with “high-touch” to stay ahead.

Traditional banks in China have begun to utilise cutting-edge technologies by collaborating with technology companies, start-ups or emerging financial institutions. While pushing their way in revolution, the vital point is to strike a balance between the digitisation of services and traditional manual banking services.

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

In 2023, China’s domestic systemically important banks grew to 20, led by China Merchants Bank in the TAB Global 1000 World’s Strongest Banks 2023 ranking, but some still require more capital despite improved capital ratios