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?

DBS experienced outages to its online banking services from 23 to 24 November, the second extensive disruption to its digital services in over a decade and the worst it has seen since 2010. The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it will consider taking supervisory action.

Grab's listing fulfils a key milestone for the platform’s early investors. However, a 12% drop in market value on its first trading day resembles Paytm’s trading debut, putting doubt on an industry that has seen an inflow of increasingly high levels of investment capital.

Kept by Krungsri application is built with cutting-edge technology on the new digital core banking platform.

Al Rajhi Bank and National Bank of Egypt have emerged as the strongest bank in the Middle East and Africa respectively. Across the region, the average ROA of banks fell to 0.9% in 2020 from 1.6% in the year earlier, while their capitalisation remained robust

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.

Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore speaks during the Singapore FinTech Festival 2021 on the future of money, finance and the internet.

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.

Several high-profile attacks in the last year have highlighted the risk of cyberattacks on third-party vendors to financial firms, their customers and the financial system. Security principles should be part of a robust and systematic protocol for managing these third-party risks

Hrishikesh Unni, managing director of Taurus Wealth Advisors, discussed the evolving global family office landscape and how private investors are increasingly seeking help for wealth management services through independent advisors.

The bank established advanced measures and processes to monitor liquidity risk and allocate responsibility for liquidity management. The bank enhanced its liquidity crisis capabilities and delivered KPIs above the minimum requirement during the pandemic.

In this Leadership Perspective Series, Nguyen Duc Thach Diem, CEO at Sacombank, discussed how digital transformation creates a resilient organisation and operations, the use of advanced technologies in the digital era and the initiatives to help customers who are facing financial difficulties.

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.

Alibaba and JD.com continue to set new sales records during the Double 11 shopping event, although growth decelerated amid China’s slowing economy and stringent technology sector scrutiny. Sustainability and inclusiveness have become key focuses.

Techcombank partnered with cloud computing platform Amazon Web Services to enhance the bank’s cloud capabilities and to promote cloud adoption in Vietnam as the country’s financial services sector continues to mature.