Weekly Brief Oct 20 Spanish banks extend blockchain into syndicated loan administration, Visa launches stablecoin prefunding Transaction Finance Weekly: Santander and BBVA administer a syndicated loan on blockchain as Visa takes stablecoin prefunding live and Japan’s megab... 970
Conference Oct 15 Nigeria’s banks face the harder test of turning financial strength into economic value At Finance West Africa 2026, banking and technology leaders questioned whether recapitalisation would translate into productive lending, challenged th... 1251
Awards Ceremonies Oct 15 First Bank of Nigeria wins three awards at The Asian Banker Africa Awards 2026 First Bank of Nigeria was named Best SME Bank in Africa, Best SME Bank in Nigeria and Best Retail Bank in Nigeria, recognising its SME financing capab... 1118
Weekly Brief Oct 15 Ecobank strengthens China-Africa payments as banks pursue new digital channels TAB Africa Weekly Brief: Standard Bank backs OPay, Airtel Money lists in London, Ecobank expands renminbi links and Zambia nears IMF programme.... 3125
Weekly Brief Oct 14 Singapore Gulf Bank expands round-the-clock USD transfers through BNY Transaction Finance Weekly: Singapore Gulf Bank joins BNY’s 24/7 dollar transfers, OCBC and Ant International tokenise deposits and Citi funds IndiG... 2727
Weekly Brief Oct 13 IMF warns hedge fund leverage could amplify market stress Risk and Capital Weekly Brief: IMF puts hedge fund exposures at $40 trillion as Basel implementation gaps and India’s reserve rules test banks.... 1362
Weekly Brief Oct 12 India raises repo rate as global bond yields and oil prices climb The Asian Banker Weekly Brief: India resumed monetary tightening as US and French bond markets sold off, oil remained above $100 a barrel and the FSB ... 1285
Sibos Round Up Oct 02 Can Mizuho turn a $1 billion supply chain facility into deeper Asia Pacific relationships? Mizuho Bank and the IFC have launched a $1 billion risk-sharing facility to expand supply chain finance for suppliers and distributors across Asia Pac... 1131
Sibos Round Up Oct 02 Can Mastercard Move help banks defend the SME cross-border payments relationship? As small businesses become more willing to switch cross border payment providers, banks can combine their existing customer trust with Mastercard Move... 804
Weekly Brief Oct 01 Mozambique downgraded to CCC as debt-restructuring risk rises TAB Africa Weekly Brief: S&P cuts Mozambique to CCC on Eurobond restructuring risk, Nigeria's yields fall after CBN rate reset and Angola sells Standa... 1737
Weekly Brief Sep 23 Qatar Investment Authority and JP Morgan Asset Management form $20 billion investment partnership TAB Middle East Weekly Brief: QIA signed a $20 billion partnership with JP Morgan Asset Management and AWS confirmed unrecoverable cloud losses in Bah... 1276
Current Account Sep 21 DBS explores how large buyers can support SME sustainable finance As sustainability requirements move down supply chains, DBS is helping smaller suppliers define their investment needs and examining how larger corpor... 1104
Weekly Brief Sep 15 GCC bank assets exceed $4 trillion as deposits rise 6% and UAE credit expands TAB Middle East Weekly Brief: GCC bank assets top $4 trillion, Türkiye holds rates at 37%, US sanctions VTB Bank, and ADGM assets under management ri... 1303
Weekly Brief Sep 04 Deutsche Bank plans 15-to-two core overhaul as banks quantify AI gains Financial Technology Weekly: Deutsche Bank consolidates core systems as TD and CMB scale AI while regulators flag cyber-resilience risks.... 1431
Weekly Brief Sep 04 China reforms property project financing with greater lead bank oversight TAB China Weekly Brief: China tightens property financing with lead-bank oversight while expanding SME credit subsidies, private-fund disclosures, and... 2191
Interviews Sep 03 Can BPI turn a more diversified loan book into sustainable growth? BPI president and CEO Jose Teodoro “TG” Limcaoco is seeking to reduce the bank’s historical dependence on institutional lending by growing consu... 854
Awards Ceremonies Aug 27 The Asian Banker Taiwan Awards 2026 highlight banking leadership, sustainable finance and digital innovation This year’s awards recognise CTBC Bank’s strengths across retail, wealth management, transaction banking and custody, E.SUN Bank’s combination o... 1030
Interviews Aug 27 Can EastWest turn its consumer-banking edge into a broader financial franchise? EastWest chief executive officer Jerry G. Ngo discusses why the bank intends to retain its consumer-centric identity while expanding into wealth, SME ... 892
Weekly Brief Aug 26 MTN fintech transaction value reaches $330.5 billion, Afreximbank profit rises 30% TAB Africa Weekly Brief: MTN's fintech transactions hit $330.5 billion, Afreximbank profit rises 30%, Equity Group expands regional lending further.... 824
Weekly Brief Aug 25 CIB commits $300 million to new digital bank, Egypt sets rules for digital financial ID platform TAB Middle East Weekly Brief: Commercial International Bank earmarks $300 million for digital bank yomo following preliminary regulatory approval, whi... 1635
Conference Aug 22 Can data, AI and digital money expand what Philippine banks can profitably serve? At Finance Philippines, industry leaders examined how data and technology are changing the cost of assessing risk, serving customers and moving capita... 1342
Awards Ceremonies Aug 21 The Asian Banker Middle East Awards 2026 highlight advances in wealth management, SME banking, digital lending and automation Across the Middle East, The Asian Banker’s 2026 Awards reflect banks strengthening wealth management, SME banking, digital lending and business inte... 2032
Awards Ceremonies Aug 20 The Asian Banker Indonesia Awards 2026 spotlight digital integration across wealth, risk and customer ecosystems This year’s awards recognised Indonesian institutions strengthening wealth management, operational risk, financial inclusion, payments, SME financin... 1448
Awards Ceremonies Aug 13 The Asian Banker Philippine Awards 2026 highlight advances in retail, SME and transaction banking This year’s awards recognised Philippine banks that are strengthening retail, SME and transaction banking through digital capabilities, integrated p... 1686
Awards Ceremonies Aug 13 Jose Teodoro Limcaoco recognised for building a larger, more integrated and digitally enabled BPI Jose Teodoro Limcaoco was named Best Bank CEO in the Philippines as BPI won Best Managed Bank, following its Robinsons Bank integration and 15% loan g... 1632
Weekly Brief Aug 11 Wells Fargo plans tokenised deposits, Deutsche Bank gains direct RMB clearing role Transaction Finance Weekly: Wells Fargo launches tokenised deposits for corporate clients, Deutsche Bank gains direct RMB clearing in Frankfurt, Klarn... 1474
Interviews Aug 05 Kasikornbank repositions FX distribution through digital execution As foreign exchange (FX) markets fragment across platforms, currencies and regulatory regimes, Kasikornbank is expanding its FX and capital markets pr... 1037
Weekly Brief Aug 05 Tanzania's CRDB profit rises 20%, Nedbank advances NCBA acquisition TAB Africa Weekly Brief: CRDB Bank posts a 20.3% profit rise as Nedbank advances its NCBA Group acquisition and S&P Global agrees to buy a majority st... 1315
Weekly Brief Jul 29 Southern Africa's regional payment system adds Angolan kwanza as second settlement currency Transaction Finance Weekly: SADC-RTGS added the Angolan kwanza as its first new settlement currency since 2013, Visa partnered with Airwallex on freig... 1347
Weekly Brief Jul 29 ADCB profit rises 28% as Gulf bank earnings diverge TAB Middle East Weekly Brief: ADCB extended its profit streak to 20 quarters as Gulf earnings diverged, DIFC surpassed 10,000 registered companies, an... 1241
Weekly Brief Jul 21 Emirates NBD goes live on Partior for 24/7 USD settlement, Deutsche Bank expands APAC escrow From Emirates NBD's real-time dollar payments to Deutsche Bank's trade finance guarantees and BBVA's Swift retail scheme, this week saw banks racing t... 1357
Interviews Jul 17 How is HSBC applying corporate lending discipline to pre-profit start-ups? HSBC's Innovation Banking unit is moving earlier into start-ups' lifecycles across Southeast Asia, tying credit decisions to institutional backing and... 1562
Interviews Jul 17 How is Absa Mauritius responding to trade disruption in cross-border trade finance? Absa Mauritius is strengthening transactional banking to help corporates and SMEs manage volatile cash flows and cross-border trade challenges, levera... 1175
Weekly Brief Jul 07 Standard Chartered completes remittance in 37 seconds as Swift's new payments scheme goes live In transaction finance this week, Standard Chartered completes the world's first live remittance under Swift's new retail payments scheme, as UK banks... 856
Awards Ceremonies Jun 11 Vietnamese banks recognised for digital innovation, SME finance and wealth management at The Asian Banker Vietnam Awards 2026 TNEX, VietinBank, BIDV, and Vietcombank were recognised for achievements in digital banking, SME services, wealth management, transaction finance and ... 2746
Interviews Jun 05 BNI strengthens its transaction-driven wholesale banking engine BNI is repositioning wholesale banking around transaction flows and operational deposits, using BNIdirect to drive sustainable growth across corporate... 2192
Current Account May 22 RHB targets SME cyber risk as Malaysia's fraud losses double and AI sharpens attack tooling RHB's integration of AML and fraud management, combined with an SME cyber self-assessment tool, points to a broader challenge: financial crime defence... 2668
Interviews May 19 I&M Bank scales retail and SME franchise in Kenya through a digital-led, ecosystem driven strategy I&M Bank is expanding access to retail and SME banking in Kenya through a digital-led strategy supported by a hybrid distribution model. The approach ... 1777
Awards Ceremonies May 14 Kevin Lam awarded Best Bank CEO in Malaysia for building a sharper, more competitive and enduring franchise at Hong Leong Bank Kevin Lam’s leadership at Hong Leong Bank has strengthened financial outcomes, operational capabilities and the quality of its franchise, earning h... 3224
Interviews May 11 kompasbank pushes SME banking beyond lending kompasbank CEO Michael Hurup Andersen believes SME banking is moving beyond standalone lending products towards operational banking models built aroun... 1759
Interviews Apr 30 Cross-border financing follows supply chains and restructures risk across markets Cathay United Bank is restructuring its cross-border corporate banking model as Taiwanese corporates decentralise production, requiring financing to b... 3552
Current Account Apr 27 DBS expands Spark GenAI programme to move SMEs from experimentation to deployment SMEs in Singapore are gaining more structured support to apply artificial intelligence within their operations through DBS’s expanded Spark GenAI pr... 2921
Awards Ceremonies Mar 13 Bank of China HK, Nedbank, Standard Chartered HK, WeBank and UOB recognised for excellence in retail banking, digital finance, SME banking and wealth management in Asia Pacific and Africa Bank of China HK, Nedbank, Standard Chartered HK, WeBank and UOB were recognised for outstanding contributions to retail banking, digital finance, SME... 3422
Interviews Mar 03 RCBC reframes retail banking around employee primacy and programme-led growth RCBC's retail banking transformation centres on employee-focused programmes designed to improve financial inclusion and increase customer engagement. ... 6548
Interviews Feb 06 Alliance Bank builds Digital SME lending engine around fraud controls and financial capability Kevin Shum, head, digital SME, business transformation and merchant acquiring, group business and transaction banking at Alliance Bank Malaysia, set o... 3628
Interviews Feb 06 Shanghai Commercial Bank builds SME and wealth operating leverage through data and digital assets Ryan Fung and Eric Fan outline how Shanghai Commercial Bank is reshaping its SME model through shared data, controlled AI and tokenised settlement to ... 3184
Interviews Jan 27 Hong Leong Bank builds SME operating leverage through relationship-led banking Woon Siew Hoong explains how Hong Leong Bank’s SME franchise delivered resilient 2025 performance through focus on micro and small businesses, relat... 3621
Singapore Fintech Festival Nov 26 XTransfer builds intelligent cross border payments for global SMEs Violas Xiao, CEO of XTransfer Singapore, explains how AI, data and ecosystem partnerships are shaping the company’s cross border payments infrastruc... 4446
Singapore Fintech Festival Nov 24 MetaComp positions StableX Network for the next phase of digital payments and settlement MetaComp’s co-president Tin Pei Ling explains how its StableX Network addresses the structural inefficiencies and trust deficits in cross-border se... 4450
Awards Ceremonies Nov 21 First Bank of Nigeria, Bank of Punjab, Stanbic IBTC, Absa, Al Rajhi Bank and BDO Unibank recognised for excellence in retail finance, SME banking and transaction finance First Bank of Nigeria, Bank of Punjab, Stanbic IBTC, Absa, Al Rajhi Bank and BDO Unibank were recognised at The TAB Global Finance Awards 2025.... 3638
HK Fintech Week Nov 20 LianLian Global supports Chinese SMEs with AI-enabled cross-border solutions LianLian Global's Tim Shen on expanding into emerging markets, using AI-driven compliance, payments and FX tools to support Chinese enterprises naviga... 4315
Singapore Fintech Festival Nov 17 Italy builds fintech bridges with Singapore and ASEAN for the next decade Italy’s ambassador to Singapore and Brunei Dante Brandi, trade commissioner Giorgio Calveri and Italia Fintech vice president Massimo Ruffolo outlin... 2394
HK Fintech Week Nov 17 SY Holdings makes supply-chain finance fairer and more responsive with AI SY Holdings’ AI platform uses transaction-level insights to deliver faster, fairer credit for SMEs and support Chinese firms expanding in Southeast ... 3841
Singapore Fintech Festival Nov 17 JP Morgan builds unified payments backbone for digital and fintech platforms across the globe JP Morgan is strengthening its global payments infrastructure to support digital platforms, fintechs and corporates as Asia’s real-time and embedded... 3891
Round Up Nov 14 Shanghai Commercial Bank redefines SME banking with AI, tokenisation and real-time data Shanghai Commercial Bank (Shacom) is reshaping SME banking in Hong Kong through AI, tokenisation and real-time data integration. Shacom’s Ryan Fung ... 4422
Interviews Oct 22 UBA accelerates growth through digital innovation and strategic expansion UBA is expanding across Africa through AI-driven digital innovation, real-time payments, and inclusive, customer-centric platforms that enhance financ... 4404
Interviews Oct 17 Bank of Punjab’s digital strategy confronts challenges in SME expansion Through a digital-first strategy targeting SMEs and agriculture, the Bank of Punjab is expanding financial inclusion in Pakistan, balancing innovation... 3299
Sibos Round Up Oct 13 Deutsche Bank positions itself as a trusted partner for transition finance and inclusive sustainability At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Lavinia Bauerochse, global head of sustainable finance, Corporate Bank at Deutsche Bank, explained how sustainability has evo... 3435
Sibos Round Up Oct 08 BNY builds inclusive, interoperable payment infrastructure for the next frontier of finance At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Isabel Schmidt, Executive Platform Owner for BNY’s Enterprise Payments Enablement, outlined how the bank is creating a sing... 2540
Awards Ceremonies Sep 25 CIMB, Hong Leong Bank and Alliance Bank recognised for excellence in retail, SME banking, digital and sustainable finance in Malaysia Leading banks in Malaysia were recognised at The Asian Banker Malaysia Awards 2025 in Kuala Lumpur.... 9402
Feature Sep 10 How banks are making ESG integral to strategy, not just compliance As regulatory expectations rise and greenwashing scrutiny tightens, banks are embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) into credit, govern... 849
Site Visits Sep 10 From banking transformation to AI-driven finance and robotics in action Delegates explored SPDB’s financial innovation, MYbank’s AI-driven SME banking, and DeepRobotics demonstrations on day two of China AI Innovation ... 3719
Interviews Sep 08 Deutsche Bank sets out how stablecoins and tokenisation enter mainstream banking As Sibos returns to Frankfurt from 29 September to 2 October 2025 under the theme “The next frontiers of global finance”, discussions on stablecoi... 7237
Interviews Jul 31 Techcombank transforms through technology, data and talent Techcombank has rebuilt its core technology and data architecture, expanded its ecosystem partnerships and redefined its talent model as part of a mul... 16731
Interviews Jul 11 UOB Thailand sharpens retail banking focus after Citibank integration Following the successful integration of Citibank’s consumer banking business, UOB Thailand is reshaping its retail banking strategy by focusing on c... 7592
Conference Jul 07 ASEAN builds self-reliance through capital and institutional cooperation The 2025 ASEAN Conference outlined a coordinated strategy to strengthen ASEAN’s economic independence by mobilising regional capital, aligning publi... 4188
TABLive Jul 03 BNCTL sharpens national mandate and regional focus as Timor-Leste prepares for ASEAN integration As Timor-Leste looks to join ASEAN in October 2025, BNCTL under its new CEO, Marcelo da Cruz Carvalho, outlines its strategic transformation to suppor... 21081
Interviews Jun 16 RCBC retail banking bets on distribution strength and data science to scale growth RCBC's head of retail banking, Richard Lim, outlines the bank's strategy for growth through branch-led distribution, cross-selling and data-driven cu... 8598
Interviews Jun 13 UnionBank advances digital consumer banking with partnerships, AI and platform-driven growth UnionBank of the Philippines is redefining digital consumer banking with a strategy built on ecosystem partnerships, AI-led decisioning, providing a f... 12075
Leadership Awards May 26 Sanath Manatunge awarded Best Bank CEO in Sri Lanka for his strategic vision, digital innovation and customer focus Sanath Manatunge’s visionary leadership and focus on digital innovation have transformed Commercial Bank of Ceylon, earning him Best Bank CEO in Sri... 6860
Keynote Speech Mar 28 Vietnam accelerates financial innovation on strong economic momentum Vietnam’s banking sector is entering a new phase of transformation, fuelled by robust economic growth, demographic tailwinds, supportive regulation ... 6984
Institutional Awards Mar 27 Vietcombank, VietinBank, Cake, BIDV and TPBank recognised for excellence in wealth management, SME banking, private banking, digital and social banking in Vietnam Vietcombank, VietinBank, Cake, BIDV and TPBank were recognised at The TAB Global Excellence in Retail Finance and Technology Innovation Vietnam Awards... 5964
Interviews Mar 19 Strengthening the foundations of Commercial Bank of Ceylon Under CEO Sanath Manatunge, Commercial Bank of Ceylon has maintained its position at the forefront of Sri Lanka’s banking sector, focusing on asset ... 9343
Interviews Mar 06 Revolut expands in Singapore and Southeast Asia with wealth and multi-currency services Revolut is expanding beyond its roots in foreign exchange and payments to become a broader financial services provider. With a new robo-advisory servi... 15845
Institutional Awards Feb 21 Standard Chartered, Industrial Bank of Korea, First Bank of Nigeria and WeBank recognised for excellence in retail, digital finance, SME banking and wealth management in Asia Pacific and Africa Standard Chartered and its Hong Kong subsidiary, Industrial Bank of Korea, First Bank of Nigeria and WeBank were recognised at The TAB Global Excellen... 5363
Awards Ceremonies Jun 07 Role of strong and sustainable leadership in the financial services industry The Excellence in Retail Finance and Technology Innovation Hong Kong Awards 2024 held recently, recognised the achievements in digital and retail bank... 6730
