The number of unicorns has increased dramatically amid a surge in venture capital investments, making 2021 a record year for privately held startup companies achieving unicorn status.

Some companies have acquired cryptocurrencies for their corporate treasuries despite the volatility. MicroStrategy, the public company that holds the most bitcoin on the balance sheet, remains bullish on bitcoin.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted substantial impact on the profitability of banks in Asia Pacific, although most are better positioned to weather this crisis than during the global financial crisis

Digital banks in Asia Pacific witnessed improving overall profitability in FY2019. Although some digital banks’ net profit in FY2020 has been affected by COVID-19 pandemic, their growth outlook remains optimistic.

The US Net International Investment Position (NIIP) has posted a deteriorating trend for over a decade now, raising concerns of the financial condition and creditworthiness of the US as a habitual debtor nation

Asian stock markets attracted less investible funds in 2018 and more went into bond markets, banking institutions and managed funds

These are the leading countries where new payment options are creating new opportunities and disrupting the incumbents

Retail banking sector has been the main growth driver for Indian banking sector during the past few years, as banks’ exposure to corporate banking sector has been reduced due to bad loans problems. Their retail lending has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.2% over the FY2013 to FY2018 period, making India's retail banking one of the biggest among emerging markets.

As the race towards digitalisation intensifies, the relationship between banks and “big tech” companies is increasingly marked by collaboration and synergy, not just competition

Chinese banks’ mortgage loan growth dropped the most in 2017 and will continue to be affected by property cooling measures and relatively tight liquidity conditions. Hong Kong banks’ mortgage loan growth, on the other hand, increased, but they are not expected to maintain it due to tough operating conditions.

Digital-only banks pose serious challenges to the traditional financial services industry with their entirely new banking experience. However, for most of them, licensing, scale and profitability are the three key issues they must face going forward.

Increased utilisation of financial technology is setting the stage for further digitisation of the Philippine’s consumer banking industry, which is slowly transitioning into a “cash-lite” economy.

Crypto markets have seen recent spikes and increased volatility as more mainstream companies and speculators continue to join the digital asset trading and investment bandwagon. The impressive rise of other cryptocurrencies beside Bitcoin has dented its market dominance.

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.

The financial services industry is undergoing a massive shift to cloud, but the challenging technology transition for incumbents requires a strategic rethink of architecture, data, people and processes.

The continuous expansion of the crypto market and the innovations it promises have been closely watched by the financial services industry, particularly by regulators. While it continues to face an uncertain, future. several factors, including the constant offering of new cryptos, new use cases in DeFi and CeFi application, increasing number of users, and structural changes and innovation in financial markets will determine its long-term growth.

The total capitalisation of digital assets surged three-fold in 2021, with strong evidence that the momentum is likely to continue into the new year. DeFi users are expected to continue their exponential growth over the next 12 months, with more institutional investors moving into the space, combined with greater clarity over regulators’ stance in the large economies such as China and the US. What challenges and uncertainties could lie ahead to derail the upbeat outlook?

Mobile-based payment platform OPay has grown exponentially since its launch in 2018, penetrating the unbanked and underbanked population in Nigeria. It allows users to send and receive money, pay bills, and order food and groceries, with a network of thousands of agents.

The push for climate change considerations puts pressure on financial services companies to develop and use advanced technologies such as blockchain that promises improved governance.

New digital financial infrastructure, new regional free trade agreements, and decisive leadership in the emerging sustainability and green agenda bode well for international RMB adoption.

Global mobile phone users are projected to reach 4.8 billion by 2025, compared with 2.8 billion users in 2020. Businesses are tapping into this vast market as mobile wallets gain an increasing share of the payments market.

As the trade finance industry collectively progresses to address challenges around digital fragmentation and isolation, adoption of standard solutions and well-established legal frameworks along with technology as an enabler will play critical roles in truly digitalising trade.

Commercial banks such as DBS Bank and traditional exchanges such as the Singapore Exchange have one thing in common: they are setting up and adding digital exchanges and platforms to their existing business lines.

The global financial industry has evolved as a result of the widespread digital transformation of traditional banks and the entrance of new digital banks. In the Middle East, the legal framework is slowly developing, which will open up the market to more digital banks.

Despite weak growth in the banking industry last year, UOB managed to grow its SME deposits significantly and reported the lowest CIR among its peers. It was also the first bank to announce $2.2 billion in relief assistance in February 2020, ahead of any government support measures. It was the leading provider in government’s assistance schemes to SMEs with the largest market share.

The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), a global industry group for central counterparties (CCPs) and exchanges, recently published its 7th annual sustainability survey. The survey takes into account the nature and extent of ESG involvement by WFE members.

A year after Hong Kong issued eight digital banking licences, Mox and ZA Bank have emerged as the early leaders. Together with WeLab, the three banks account for 86% of all virtual banking deposit in Hong Kong.

As demand for sustainable products rises, stakeholders including consumers, investors, and regulators are pushing manufacturers, suppliers and lenders to incorporate ESG metrics in evaluating the performance of their supply chains.

The rapid transformation of domestic and cross-border payments brings new opportunities and challenges for financial institutions.Amid shrinking payment margins, players are rethinking their business models to better monetise data insights and integrate financing options such as “buy now, pay later” (BNPL). Industry experts share their views on the impact of this changing landscape, emerging value propositions, and key technology enablers for future growth

Market development, operational challenges, and payment preferences are going to shape consumer engagement with the new instant payment platform

Industry practitioners discuss how process of bringing offshore global supply chains back to the country of origin accelerates demand for existing and new financing programmes that provide liquidity for sub-tier level of suppliers

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

The inaugural BankQuality™ Consumer Survey and Rankings in the Middle East interviewed 3,000 customers in three key markets in the region on their engagement, experience and satisfaction with their main retail banks.

Tech giants, which make up some of the world’s largest companies, are muscling into traditional banking spaces. But whether they want to crush the traditional finance players or enable them, they are learning across the globe that disrupting well-regulated banking systems is easier said than done

The inaugural BankQuality™ Consumer Survey and Rankings interviewed 11,000 bank customers in 11 markets across the Asia Pacific region on their engagement, experience and satisfaction with their main retail banks.

The German fintech’s dramatic collapse is likely to reshape the payment processing landscape as market rewards players leading innovation and value creation

The use of RMB in international transactions will increase despite US-China trade frictions and on-going COVID-19 pandemic according to the latest annual survey on RMB internationalisation conducted jointly by China Construction Bank and Asian Banker Research.

Sharp rise in electronic payment incidents in Australia resulted in substantial customer disruption in 2018.

While fintechs may take some market share away in specific niches, the partnerships, analytics, and value-add that leading banks are developing can keep head of the game. Banks that fail to keep up could lose a significant share of their SME business

Several key themes emerged amidst the many discussions by global leaders in payments, including QR code, blockchain, credit card schemes, fintech and data consolidation

Chinese credit card industry exploded over the past two years, with growth rates being recorded in the number of credit cards issued and outstanding credit card debt, as well as the income from credit card business.

Given that remittances are so lucrative in so many markets in Asia, and that new competitors are offering faster and cheaper services, banks will need to develop new models if they want to keep their customers.

The bank onboarding process should be fast, as the most fundamental attribute of an exceptional account opening experience is speed

As real-time processing becomes the norm in domestic payments, how long would it take for cross-border payments to catch up?

Global and regional cash management banks across Asia-Pacific are making substantial investments in digital initiatives to enhance the overall transaction experience of their clients.

Electronic channels and bank agnostic platforms are transforming traditional trade finance functions across Asia Pacific

The discussion on cybersecurity is being given increased importance in the boardroom as cybercrime goes global and data protection comes to the forefront

Digital disruption is rapidly changing the competitive and operating landscape and driving institutions and regulators to adopt opening banking strategies and create API enabled IT architectures.

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 Asia Pacific banking sector will benefit from the improving global and regional economic conditions in 2018. Overall, better asset quality is expected, and banks will maintain relatively stable profitability and capitalisation. Nevertheless, there are growing concerns over the potential asset price corrections, high private debt, and geopolitical risks.

The Asia Pacific banking industry will continue to see a rise in demand and salary among highly skilled technical workers in the backdrop of ongoing digitalisation.

Cyber-threats have become increasingly complex, inflicting high monetary and reputational damages to institutions that, despite various measures, are forced to plan “catch up” to the advanced technology of criminals. As regulators expand advisories, the institutions now need stronger multi-layered cyber-resilient initiatives.

The Internet of Things offers potential opportunities in retail and corporate banking and will fuel the rise of new types of clients in the form of smart cities and autonomous artificial intelligence driven market agents.

Spurts in prices of cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings over the last two years, with start-ups raising millions in minutes, have raised excitement and regulatory attention amid fear of “bubble” and potential losses.

A renewed push to provide end-to-end supply chain financing solutions is driving trade finance across Asia Pacific.

Retail asset quality pressure will persist in the Asia Pacific region, due to slower economic growth and worse employment situations. However, the downside risk to banks’ retail asset quality will remain manageable, as regulators and banks continue their efforts to better manage credit risk.

While much of the focus for quarterly results at DBS was on profits and non-performing loans, the impact of digitisation on expense reduction was striking and the bank’s plans for the next ten years pave the path towards even greater efficiency.

Most Asia Pacific markets have witnessed a slowdown in unsecured consumer loan growth, as regulations tighten and more alternative lending options are made available to borrowers. To stay relevant, banks are slowly digitising the business while also closely monitoring credit quality.

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is driving the country’s banks to move to digital platforms through its “Bank 3.0” vision as banks have an urgent need to differentiate themselves in the crowded retail banking market.

Investments and interest in distributed ledger technology have been rising rapidly as new use cases emerge to harness its potential. The technology is nonetheless still at an early stage with many hurdles to cross, possibly five to seven years away from mainstream adoption.

With more than 70% of Southeast Asia being unbanked, fintech possesses tremendous potential to widen financial inclusion and spur economies. Advances in the industry mean more people and companies have the ability to save, borrow and transact. Yet with such a wide and sensitive remit, regulations need to keep pace with the constant innovation.

Emirates NBD’s efforts towards digitisation have enabled customers to bank with more ease through new account propositions. From Shake n’ Save to Fitness and other new mobile based applications, the bank is putting itself at the forefront of digital services.

Financial institutions are starting to use APIs to create important linkages between their products and services and their customers and important third party value providers. Early movers to stand to gain mindshare of both customers and the wider application developer community.

Fintech, the latest buzzword in the peer-to-peer lending sector, has carved a niche for itself in a short span of time. As banks tighten their seat belts for the new-age disruption, they are showing strong affinity towards collaboration with the marketplace lenders to secure their customer proposition.

Customised financial advice had, for many years, been available almost exclusively to private banking clients or to the mass affluent. However, robo-advisors are offering the same advice to many more consumers. Customers in Asia, from the man on the street to the ultra-wealthy, seem ready to embrace these new robo-advisors.

Credit card issuance and usage wane as digital and mobile payments increase in popularity.

While many financial institutions in emerging markets are trying to strike the right balance between their physical footprints and digital presence, leading banks in mature markets are proving that digital transformation can boost profitability and efficiency.

Digitisation in the cross-border money transfer industry might leave fewer opportunities for incumbent banks and operators to grow. How they cultivate alliances and digital innovation to stay ahead of competitive will be critical moving forward.

New proofs of concepts have emerged in blockchain as the industry tackles various impediments to its successful adoption. The technology initiatives would need to be complemented with stronger collaborative efforts and interoperability for future growth.

Increasing adoption of digital payments has resulted in stiff competition within the industry. Non-bank payment players have become more aggressive, aiming to grow into full scale financial service providers.

Competition is forcing banks to improve the digital experience of their customers. Banks are focused on investing in mobile technologies, data analytics, security and cloud computing.

Vietnam’s banking sector has taken significant steps to comply with Basel II requirements. However, more measures are needed to create an effective and integrated risk management framework in the banks.

As the search for efficiency intensifies amid a slowdown in economic growth, banks continue to leverage technology to relieve cost pressures and provide increasingly complex working capital solutions that their clients demand.

The advent of new technologies is driving rapid upgrading of national payment systems around the world that are enabled with rich data and real-time capabilities.

Shinhan Bank has launched Korea’s first full service biometric-enabled and unmanned smart digital kiosks that allow customers to do financial transactions through real-time video interaction without the need to visit a physical branch.

HSBC will continue reshaping its business and conduct cost-saving strategies amidst a weak performance in its European, Latin American, and North American businesses.

China Merchants Bank and China CITIC Bank are developing their credit card businesses to stimulate retail income.

The development of digital platforms that enable direct global money transfer is a nascent but fast growing business model from the remittance industry. The model does not envisage traditional banks as part of the long term plans, and competes with the largest global money operators head on.

Despite current economic challenges, Vietnam’s banking sector has promising longer term potential due to its relatively young and increasingly affluent population.

The contribution of consumer finance to the overall retail loans in Asia Pacific in 2015 ranged from 2% to 56%. Its share to retail loans has increased in markets like Indonesia but has declined in Hong Kong and Thailand. The growth of consumer finance per country also varied, slowing down in Taiwan and growing faster in the Philippines.

While crowdlending in Asia Pacific shows early promise, its fate will be dictated by how regulators and banks respond to the challenges they pose.

Innovations emerging from East and West African banking hubs are enabling the sector to take a lead in reaching Africa’s unbanked population but much remains to be done.

New payment options in the market are creating new opportunities, making competition fiercer, and reducing the use of cash and cheques.

State enterprises form one of the largest customer segments of Krung Thai Bank. But this does not confine the bank, as it enters the nongovernment retail deposit market driven by a mix of competitive pricing and products, process innovation, and a strong branch network.

Formal financial institutions have connected only 22% of the Indonesian population. A huge potential for the financial sector still needs to be explored, and digitised lending, which combines retail banking with financial technology, should be a future solution.

Hong Kong’s economy remains sound but the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is tamping down property loans and issuance of long-term personal loans. With the stricter regulations, the challenge for Hong Kong banks is not asset quality but pricing.

Remittances slowed in 2014 mainly due to exchange rate volatility, as remittances are reported in US dollars.

Banks are integrating new technologies into their core businesses to improve their digital banking presence and speed-to-deliver

The People's Bank of China has established an integrated system to connect banks, merchants, and retailers to facilitate increased transactions, which grew 74.5% to $913.5 trillion in 2015. With growing consumer spending, financial institutions in China have to step up to meet the needs of retail clients.

Can the industry withstand the current combination of low interest rates, strong housing price growth and higher household indebtedness?

Australian banks are moving towards increased digitalisation, leveraging technological advancements to ensure seamless customer experience in providing better retail banking products and services.

As trials move into actual implementations, global financial markets and monetary systems will be disrupted and transformed.

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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%

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

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

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

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

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

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

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%.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.'

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.

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

South American banks led with the highest average loan-to-deposit ratio at 109%, followed by Europe at 96%, with around 50% of South American and 42% of European banks with ratios exceeding 100%

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