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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

China Merchant Bank (CMB), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and other major Chinese commercial banks have stopped robo-advisory services in response to increased regulatory scrutiny.

DBS CEO Piyush Gupta, Public Bank CEO Tay Ah Lek and UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong are the top three highest-paid bank chief executives in Asia Pacific in FY 2021. The combined total remuneration eared by the top ten reached $56.5 million in FY 2021, up from $53.6 million in FY 2020

Tay Ah Lek saw a 6.5% rise in total remuneration to $9.2 million in 2020 despite the pandemic, which was 250 times the average pay Public Bank’s employees received.

Indian banks still dominate the list of the top 10 banks with the highest nonperforming loan (NPL)ratio among the 500 largest banks in Asia Pacific, despite the improved asset quality. In addition, the list also includes two banks from Bangladesh and one each from China, Japan, and Pakistan.

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

Qatar Islamic Bank is the most efficient bank in the Middle East and Africa, emerging first among the largest 100 banks in the MEA 200 rankings in 2021. Notably, five of the 10 banks on the list are Qatar banks due to their emphasis on digital transformation.

Hong Kong's banking industry has remained resilient amid the pandemic, and its retail banking sector is expected to grow slowly but steadily until 2023.

The banking industry in Asia Pacific will continue to be stable, but will face persistent dark clouds and headwinds. Slower growth, trade disruptions, financial asset repricing and high private sector leverage emerge as top industry risks for 2019

All the top 10 most efficient banks in Asia Pacific are from China. Bank of Shanghai is the most efficient in the region, followed closely by Bank of Tianjing and, Bank of Beijing.

Banks in most Asian markets booked lower provisions to cover potential loan losses as economies recover, which has contributed to the improved profitability in 1H 2021

As global banks move towards ISO 20022 readiness by the end of 2022, it is important to understand the impact that the adoption of the new standard will have on the banking and payment industries and what challenges and opportunities they will face as they modernise international settlement.

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.

With 41% of China's $45 trillion in banking assets and 27% of its $30 trillion in loans exposed to the property market, authorities are likely to initiate an orderly distribution of distressed assets of real estate developers such as Evergrande that failed to meet the “three red lines” limit on debt liabilities. Leveraged expansion sabotaged Evergrande’s sustainability while profit from property development shrunk for three consecutive years.

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.

China is cracking down on big techs’ monopoly in financial data to curb abuses of power and protect consumers’ privacy, according to the country’s banking and insurance watchdog.

A recent study by TABInsights and FICO of digital banking customers revealed how increased customisation and timely processing can contribute to more sustained engagement with primary banking providers.

In the recently released Global Fintech Hub Report 2021, Beijing was named the best fintech hub, followed by San Francisco, New York, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and London.

While new digital banks in Asia Pacific harbour lofty ambitions to reduce customer pain points with unique business models, differentiated services, as well as agile and efficient technologies, they face formidable competition and a challenging journey ahead to achieve scale and profitability

Cross-border payments are affected by high costs and inefficiencies, and burdened by compliance requirements. Partior presents an alternative infrastructure to tackle these issues.

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.

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.

China’s pilot of the central bank digital currency has made promising progress. However, the digital RMB system collects and shares less transaction information than traditional electronic payments according to a PBOC digital RMB white paper.

With the progress of technology and pandemic-induced restrictions, SMEs are increasingly steering towards digital and mobile cross-border payments options.

A challenging operating environment reshapes retail finance priorities and customer engagement models in the industry

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.

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.

In June 2021, Chinese ride hailing giant Didi and digital freight platform Full Truck Alliance made their debuts in the US amid the volatile initial public offering (IPO) environment.

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.

Standard Bank of South Africa gained market share in home loans, while FirstRand Bank only grew its home loans by 0.2%

Chinese banks well positioned on this year’s strongest banks ranking while performance varied by categories

Provincial banks accounted 9 out of 10 on the list

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.

As the number of e-wallet players in Indonesia surges amid the vast market opportunities, bigger players have begun extending the competition beyond payments

The Chinese government has proposed establishing a joint venture with local technology companies to oversee the collection of data from Chinese consumers.

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

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

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

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 COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digitisation and innovation in financial services. It has also impacted the operations, financial sustainability and funding of fintech companies

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.

In addition to leading their institutions to support customers and communities, some bank bosses are also taking pay cuts or making charitable donations to support the fight against the COVID-19

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

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.

Emirates NBD recorded a strong performance in retail banking in 2019 with significant growth in revenue and profit that allowed the bank to retain its first position among other peers in the Middle East.

At the International Heads of Retail Finance Virtual Meeting on 28 August 2020, leaders from over 22 institutions in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, discussed key trends and issues impacting the industry. The rise of digital only banks, integrating lifestyle and finance through digital platforms, and improving customer experience were at the forefront of the dialogue.

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 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

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.

Countries are eager to strike a balance between mitigating the economic damage from lockdowns and keeping the coronavirus outbreak under control.

Regulators in many APAC economies have begun setting the rules and issuing licences for digital banks, but the COVID-19 pandemic has affected some of these plans and initiatives.

With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, many people are staying at home and doing their shopping through mobile phones and computers. As a result, e-commerce and cashless payments have seen growth and spread further across different markets.

As cases of COVID-19 accelerate outside of China, affected countries have enacted relief policies with an estimated worth of $3 trillion to cushion the downside impact of the pandemic.

The Singapore banking industry has persevered through challenges in 2019 such as global growth coming under pressure due to geopolitical and trade tensions, but the COVID-19 outbreak will be a greater test to the country’s financial sector stability.

Taiwan’s retail banking market is a highly mobile and digital maturing consumer market which continues to rely extensively on community branch banking services.

The center of debate has shifted from whether impact investing can match the returns of traditional investing, to whether asset owners are willing and how many asset managers are skilled and inclined to put in the extra diligence needed to ensure positive impacts for similar returns.

Africa’s e-commerce landscape is growing, with more players entering the industry. With increased e-payment innovations and technical security, Sub-Saharan Africa will continue to see growth in is number of online shoppers.

From commercial collaborations, partnerships and innovation labs to direct investment in fintech, banks are adopting varying strategies towards a resilient future growth

Outlook for the banking industry in Asia Pacific turns negative as the region confronts weaker economic and trade conditions as well as the erosion of investor confidence

Peer-to-peer payment themes in India, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong and the Philippines have taken off with varying degrees of success but adoption is hampered by lack of commitment, and in some cases, by high customer charges among the largest banks.

The market for charitable giving is evolving like other forms of commerce and establishing a firm digital presence

Africa’s payments services are rapidly growing, driven by concerted efforts between mobile money operators, banks and fintech as well as regulatory drives to implement real time payment systems, while rise in mobile money accounts and fintech threatens to make traditional bank account services irrelevant.

With the reprieve on know your customer regulations on certain segments, banks and new challengers are rapidly integrating eKYC into their processes to offer customers an improved onboarding journey

Industry experts analyse how financial crime dynamics and cybercrimes are becoming more sophisticated with digital disruption and share their views on what banks could do to address the alarming issue

China is changing the distribution of wealth across the region and rapidly developing its wealth management industry which is dominated by mega banks and trust companies

Customers make decisions on primary banking relationship based on assumed needs for multiple network point convenience, even though they may patronise one point most often. In the debate over the role and future of bank branches, ultimately the only opinion that counts is the consumer’s.

Africa’s payments services architecture is rapidly evolving in response to changing technology and customer expectation. While non-banks such as mobile network operators (MNOs) are the key drivers of disruptive payments technologies in Africa, traditional banks are also creatively developing and integrating disruptive technologies to address the continent’s payment challenges and most importantly meet customer expectations.

Vietnam is likely to emerge as a significant consumer-driven market, placing it in the Asian consuming class of Indonesia and the Philippines with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita between $2,800-$3,500 by 2020, in which mass automobile ownership takes off.

As the role of corporate treasury evolves beyond its traditional core functions of cash and liquidity management, banks are making substantial investments into new technologies to simplify corporate to multi-bank connectivity.

Between 2019 to 2022, banks will launch full digital banking blueprints, making more structural changes at the back office to tap fully into a rapidly growing consumer banking market

Big four banks to tidy up various messes coming from renewed pressure from regulators

Better returns in the alternative finance sector and an increase in transparency attracts more non-institutional investments particularly in online platform lending

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

ING and Suncorp emerge as victors from the fallout in regards to net promoter score while smaller banks are in danger to lose the most with the entry of new players in the market.

Australian households are struggling with the record amount of outstanding debt, and the sliding housing market fuels concerns over shrinking economic growth in the country. In addition, the rapid build-up of household debt in China continues to attract attention

Indonesia is seeing exponential growth in mobile payments spurred by a robust fintech landscape, though usage remains uneven and limited

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

Pressure on margins from increased competition and compliance requirements is forcing the industry to recalibrate its trade finance offerings. While institutions know that trade digitalisation is important for the future of the business, success relies heavily on deeper coordination and collaboration between the myriad participants in the trade finance ecosystem and technology enablers

Within Asia, China has been the undisputed leader in terms of total fintech investments raised. In other parts of the region, fintechs in South East Asia witnessed a 143% growth in funding that reached $484 million in 2018

Banks launch end-to-end digital onboarding for comprehensive account opening

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

While the growth of Alibaba and Alipay as well as Tencent and WeChat pay in China is well known, there have been questions about whether a similar model can succeed outside of China. Local players as well as those Chinese giants themselves are starting to show that a super-app may well succeed in other markets in Asia too.

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.

Overall economic growth prospects for the Africa region are favourable. Most banks will raise capital base and maintain stable profitability, but weak asset quality will remain a key concern

In the Asia Pacific region, skilled and experienced tech professionalsand regulatory compliance specialists will find themselves well-positioned in the banking and financial services market

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.

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

Innovation by financial technology companies (fintechs) has led to many banks opening their doors for collaborations. The strategic approaches, often multidimensional, vary from investments to building an ecosystem and technology partnership

Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to transform retail banking, impacting the customer journey from acquisition on through to retention.

The most competitive digital retail financial institutions come all but from China, and the elite club of the top 10, representing all non-bank financial players, are exclusively from China, Korea and Australia

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

Globally, commercial banks have demonstrated that they are not the underdogs when it comes to growing the number of digital users. They compete well in most markets under review against the best neo-banks and digital financial institutions (FIs). However, the dramatic rise in digital user base of neo-banks in recent months may erode this lead.

Driven by competition and rapid disruption, banks increasingly spend on technology enabled models targeted to improve customer experience and service capability. What are the recent developments and top priorities of banks in 2018?

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.

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.

Implications of new regulations and emergence of digital-only players were hot button issues discussed this year at the Asian Banker Future of Finance ‘Global Transactions Re-invented’ track

Pundits who see fintechs as the epitome of digital revolution need to pause and consider a simple fact, they may well be transitory and more dramatic changes are yet to come

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, joined the Asian Banker’s Emmanuel Daniel and Gordian Gaeta in a debate on the development of the internet, innovation in China, and what the financial industry can learn from both

Losses from cybercrime has increased sharply as ransomware incidents soar, ‘cybercrime as a service’ provides greater access and new threats emerge, forcing banks to implement multilayered and stronger technology enabled IT risk and security frameworks.

JD Finance takes full advantage of technology integration and cross-company synergy, allowing the company to offer corporate, retail, and rural customers safe and customized financial services

MoMo grew into the largest mobile wallet provider in Vietnam by offering a better user experience and forging early partnerships with incumbent players

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.

Technological disruption is reshaping the payment landscape, creating a tight mobile wallet business environment. Banks must reshape their strategies that will help enhance their competitiveness in this market.

Chatbots are another example of relatively low-cost advancements in artificial intelligence adoption within the banking industry. These computer programmes are designed to conduct live chats to resolve common queries and carry out specific tasks; and they are proving to be popular among customers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

In general, industry assets under management in selected Asia Pacific countries shows sustained growth trends up to 2018. However, the shares of top banks in total assets under management differ widely, wherein top banks in emerging markets have higher market shares compared to top banks in mature markets.

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

The Top 100 banks in consumer banking in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa is the result of The Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Programme, the most rigorous, prestigious and transparent audit programme for consumer banking.

New players and technologies continue to drive change in the transaction banking space in Asia Pacific, causing incumbent banks to focus more on improving customer experience and reviewing existing business models.

With the entry of financial technology disruptors, banks in Asia Pacific are putting greater focus on technology and operational excellence to enhance customer service and the overall transaction banking experience.

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.

The last four years have been considered the worst for Thai banks in retail banking. Despite a meagre income and loan growth, banks have been working hard to improve operating efficiencies, re-balance portfolios, and build digital platforms to support the country’s next phase in e-payments, internet financing and micro lending.

President Xi Jinping’s pet project – “The Belt and Road Initiative” – aims to link Asia, Europe and Africa by rewriting global trade routes. With such a big project, China’s accompanying motivations are also enormous. Be it on an economic, political or strategic-level, the project is sold almost as a catch-all solution.

Banks are looking at "smarter" chatbots to deliver better customer experience, while also bringing down expenses and improving efficiency.

Economies of scale, profitability, and developing a comprehensive service proposition remain major challenges in Vietnam’s growing retail banking industry. A long-term sustainable future will depend on how banks execute a right risk-reward balance

Retail banks in Hong Kong are capitalising on fintech to innovate their product palate and to reach out to new customers through dedicated digital channels.

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.

Asia Pacific markets have seen a shift towards digital banking during the past few years. Nowadays, banks are placing more effort on mobile banking, such as improving security and convenience of their applications and enhance the user experience to drive engagement in the channel.

Mobile payment apps have continued to proliferate in countries around the world, with Mercedes Pay soon likely to join the more familiar Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Local apps in Asia, ranging from Paylah! in Singapore to Kakao in South Korea, offer mobile payments as well.

The evolving landscape of South Korean retail banking is pushing banks to invest in financial technology to retain and attract customers, even as traditional brick and mortar branches give way to specialised branches.

In a matter of weeks US President Donald Trump’s administration will lay bare how they wish to regulate banks and markets. After months of scathing remarks about the Dodd-Frank Act, any clarity on exactly how Trump wishes to overhaul the system is welcomed by both detractors and supporters. But how much change should be expected?

In the quest to create financial ecosystems, banks believe they can stay relevant to a customer’s financial needs.

Data is a strategic asset that allows companies to acquire or maintain a competitive edge in the knowledge economy. To unlock the hidden value of data, firms should treat data as an integral part of their supply chain, because it impacts the entire ecosystem in which a firm operates.

Composition of retail banking assets among Asia Pacific countries shows that mature markets have a higher average share of mortgages in retail lending than emerging markets, while banks in emerging markets have expanded their mortgage lending at a stronger pace.

As data analytics becomes nearly ubiquitous in most parts of consumers’ digital lives, leading banks are providing digitised solutions that deliver the right offer at the right time, predict fraud so they can reduce risk, and boost cross-sell rates.

In retail banks around the world, robots are making their way into the back office and reducing costs by as much as 80% while increasing accuracy by up to 100%. Along with bringing lower costs and greater efficiency, they’re also creating the complexity of redeploying people who have performed routine tasks for many years.

Banks are expected to see continued growth in auto lending due to economic development but growth will be dampened by the rise of ride-sharing services.

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.

Declining profitability from lending is forcing Japanese banks to rethink product and service strategies whilst innovative technology adoption is helping to maintain high service levels

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.

The gross retail banking income for the entire region will grow by 8% by the end of 2017 after showing a year-on-year growth of 7.5% in 2016 and 10% in 2015.

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.

Basel regulators are trying to finalise changes on how to calculate banks’ risky assets. But US and Europe are at loggerheads about what these should look like. After postponing a decision in January, and failing to reach a conclusion in early March, a compromise is proving to be tricky.

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.

Robotics, enabled by artificial intelligence and machine learning, is proving to be a game changer that can bring unique operational efficiencies to the financial services industry.

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.

Mobile payments are expected to surge in the next few years, driven by technology and analytics. However, banks are facing tough challenges from non-bank competitors offering more attractive services.

DBS Group’s retail and wealth business has been accelerating income generation since 2013. However, the bank continues to face an uphill struggle with some of its overseas retail markets.

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.

Economies of scale, profitability, and developing a comprehensive service proposition remain major challenges in Vietnam's growing retail banking industry. A long-term sustainable future will depend on how banks execute a right risk-reward balance.

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.

Piyush Gupta, chief executive officer of DBS Singapore, received the highest remuneration among bank CEOs in the Asia Pacific region in 2016, while top executives of many Chinese banks had high reductions in their compensations.

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.

Wide discontent with conventional banks have led to the emergence of mobile-only fintech banks. However, these challenger banks are struggling to expand their customer reach, putting doubts whether they can stand against bigger traditional banks.

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.

Emerging new competition, changing customer expectations, and reduced profitability are forcing banks in India to revisit their strategic business and operating models as well as their digital transformation and technology innovation strategies.

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.

De-risking has proved to be more than the exiting of businesses for Asia Pacific’s trade finance industry. A strategic shift is underway which might just change the nature of trade finance for years to come.

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.

It is not often that a technology comes along that forces a rethink of traditional business models. Blockchain, a technology that originated from an anti-establishment alternative to fiat currencies, is fast finding applications in a myriad of financial use cases

ICBC (Macau), HSBC, Hang Seng Bank, ICBC, and Public Bank complete the top five strongest banks in the Asia Pacific region.

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.

The incumbent outlines its response to an increasingly fragmenting payments landscape offering to support old and new customers alike by helping them de-risk major technology investments with the provision of a gateway service.

The Asian Banker recently updated the bank profile of Vietnam Prosperity Bank Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank).

The Asian Banker recently updated the bank profile of Asia Commercial Bank. The bank is focused on boosting its competitiveness in the Vietnamese market.

The Asian Banker recently updated the bank profile of Vietnam Eximbank.

Regulators in Asia Pacific such as Indonesia's OJK are actively planning for measures to promote the growth of fintech in the region.

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.

In 2012, Kotak Mahindra Bank implemented a "courtesy call back" feature in its contact centres. The technological innovation gave customers faster service, and call abandonment rates dropped significantly. Savings in call charges were also realised.

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.

In the United Arab Emirates, banks have become more competitive in retaining their customers as a result of new regulations, while the rest are developing their individual strengths gained from their own customer experiences. The experiences of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank illustrate how banks have adapted their strategies to new developments in the banking sector.

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.

It is clear that China’s goal of becoming the world’s largest economy by 2020 and the internationalisation of the RMB are two initiatives that are symbiotic in nature. With the recent IMF decision to include the currency in the SDR currency basket, what does the future hold for the RMB?

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.

Despite considerable variations within the Middle East and Africa, the banking sector as a whole achieved good financial performance in 2014

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?

Globally, banks and non-banks are testing whether QR codes to merchants and consumers can provide a simple solution for payments.

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

New technologies and industry-wide collaborative platforms are helping to achieve end-to-end payment transparency, traceability and visibility in near real time

Asia Pacific markets have seen a shift towards digital banking during the past few years. Nowadays, banks are placing more effort on mobile banking, such as improving security and convenience of their applications and enhance the user experience to drive engagement in the channel.